


Between Pleasure and Pain

by kealani_azure



Category: Not Even Bones - Fandom, Webtoon - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Blood, Death Market, Dolphins, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gore, Kitsune, Maybe eventual smut ?, Non-Consensual, Prisoners, Romance, Sadism, Sexual Scenarios, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Torture, Unnaturals, Vampires, Violence, Webtoon, Zannies, black market
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:56:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kealani_azure/pseuds/kealani_azure
Summary: Since I never read the book this story is based solely off of the webtoon. This story is told through the perspective of you, the reader, and your life in the death market. Your unnatural abilities give you an unlikely relationship with your enemy Kovit.
Relationships: Kovit/female reader, Kovit/reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have never read the book so I’m just updating this story as the webtoon updates. Also keep in mind that since this is a Kovit x reader insert, scenes may be drastically different than what is in the webtoon.

Footsteps shuffled into the room. It always terrified me whenever people came into the prison when it wasn’t feeding time because that meant buyers were coming or that witch Reyes and her mutt Kovit were bored and wanted to toy with us. But today, something out of the ordinary happened.

“Careful, I don’t want the merchandise to be in poor condition before we’ve even made any sales,” I could hear Reyes hiss.

My ears pricked in interest. Sounded like they’ve captured another unnatural. A shame, really. For anyone that finds themselves in these cells, their fate surely gets worse from being in here. My sympathy, however, was drowned out by my curiosity. I wondered who our new inmate would be?

“Put her in this one, boys,” Reyes gestured to a cell across from mine.

Reyes’ guard dogs Jorge and Lorenzo followed her, wheeling in a girl who looked around my age and she appeared unconscious. That stupid mutt Kovit was trailng close behind them with that trademark smirk on his face. Oh, how badly I wanted to smack it off his pretty face sometimes.

Jorge and Lorenzo placed the girl on the the mattress and walked out, Reyes closing the glass door with a wicked grin on her face. “I believe this one will make us a lot of money.”

She glanced at me and my other inmate Mirella and smirked, making her way towards us. “Lucky you two, you got more company.” She looked away from us without another care, like we were just trash on the side of the streets waiting to be picked up. Which I guess if we weren’t making her money, we would’ve been.

Reyes walked back out the hall with Jorge and Lorenzo falling into step after her. Kovit stared at the new girl for a few seconds before turning around and stopping to look at me. He smirked before walking after the others and I glared after him. 

I never liked Kovit since I got here. Part of it is because he did remind me of a dog, always following Reyes around and obeying her orders. It made me sick that he was willing to do anything for her. His zannie nature only made it more twisted. Another part of it is because Kovit and I did not have a nice introduction.

I was about to reminisce about my first time meeting Kovit but a soft voice spoke up from the other side of the wall. “I kind of feel bad for her already.”

I shifted myself over so I was leaning against the right wall of my cell. For a while, it was just me and Mirella in the prison, but since our cells were next to each other we have never actually seen the other person. But we were the only company for each other and often spoke with the wall always in between us to pass time.

I shrugged. “It’s just the way things are. She’ll suffer down here, of course. But it’s not like anyone can do anything about it.” Before, I used to pity myself and Mirella and be terrified for what kind of horrors we would endure, but as time went on I found it easier to not think about that. We were all screwed and no one was coming to save us. No point mulling over that terrifying thought.

Mirella was silent for a few seconds and for a moment I wondered if she thought it was really heartless and disgusting for me not to care, and she would be right. But worrying about others was useless and a waste. But suddenly, Mirella spoke up again. “I suppose. Still kinda sucks though.”

Our conversation was cut short when more footsteps sounded down the hall. One pair of heavy, but youthful steps. Kovit.

The dark haired boy made his way down the hall carrying three water bottles in his arms. Kovit made his way to my cell and smirked. “(Y/n),” he greeted.

I glared. “Go to hell,” I spat.

Kovit chuckled. “Not very smart to bite the hand that feeds you.” He pushed the bottle into the feeder and stood back up, that obnoxious grin never leaving his face. “You’re lucky I’m not going to punish you. But it’s not like that matters since you’re into that, aren’t you?”

My face flared red and I scowled as I bent down to retrieve the bottle, Kovit moving onto Mirella’s cell with a laugh. There was nothing more I hated than that shit-eating grin on his face. The face that looked so smug and took pleasure in other people’s suffering. The face that just loved to keep humiliating me.

Kovit distributed the last water bottle to the new unnatural and left, a smirk on his face as his eyes glanced at me before leaving. 

I glowered, picking up the water bottle and unscrewed the cap with my teeth.

“You two seem to be getting along better,” Mirella’s sarcastic voice sounded on the other side.

I spat the cap out on the floor. “I hate him with every inch of my being. I hate how he keeps bringing up  that  incident.”

“He’s just trying to get under your skin. Besides, it’s not like you could help it.” There was a pause. “Have you ever thought about how you two are kind of similar?”

I whirled around at the wall in surprise. I couldn’t see her face, but it helped knowing I was yelling in her direction. “What?! What the hell do you mean by that?!” How could she compare me to that monster??

Mirella was about to answer, but a groaning noise cut her off. My attention immediately fell to the new girl and I saw that she stared stirring, forcing herself to stand up. She looked around, seeming groggy and confused. Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise when she saw me and Mirella. 

I gazed back at her evenly. I saw the fear and confusion in her eyes, as if dozens of questions were running through her mind. I wonder who’s going to say something first? 

“Why aren’t you drinking?” 

Ah, of course it was Mirella. It was her who also spoke to me first when I got here. But I couldn’t help but snort at Mirella’s question. Girl just got up, give her some time to adjust, would ya? It’s not like she’ll be going anywhere for a while.

The curly haired brunette looked at the water bottle. “Is it drugged?” she asked suspiciously.

Mirella and I couldn’t help but to laugh at that. “Yeah, you were captured here and imprisoned just so they could drug you,” I smiled, sipping my water. “It’s fine.”

I watched as the girl shakily unscrewed the cap and lifted the bottle to her lips, choking on the water as she gulped it down. I wonder how long she has been out and how she was captured. Poor girl must be so terrified.

“What’s your name?” Mirella asked her.

The brunette didn’t reply, giving Mirella and I each a suspicious look before sitting down on the mattress facing away from us. I couldn’t blame her. Whatever she had gone through, she was smart to not trust others so hastily. But then again, each of us are literally in cages. Does she really think there is much debate on whether she can talk to us or not?

“Don’t you have a name?” Mirella repeated, starting to get annoyed.

Again, the girl ignored us and continued holding herself on the mattress, her body shaking.

“Hey, maybe you should leave her alone?” I suggested. The girl looked like she needed to sort things out in her mind, and I could understand that.

“Are you really not gonna talk?” Mirella ignored me, sounding disappointed.

Finally, the girl snapped “Ugh, will you two just leave me alone?!”

Part of me wanted to snap back at the girl to defend Mirella who was just trying to be friendly, but the other part of me held back.  _Calm down, (y/n)_ ,  I reminded myself.  _Yelling won’t solve anything._

But Mirella spoke again, her voice softer. “My name is Mirella and that’s (y/n). What’s yours?”

I was worried the brunette was gonna yell again, but she turned back to us. “I’m Nita,” she introduced herself. “What’s happening here?”

“We’re prisoners,” I gestured to the glass cages. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“No shit,” Nita groaned.

I could almost hear the frown in Mirella’s voice. “You mean you don’t know?

Nita frowned, absolutely clueless. “Know what?”

“Maybe it’s better if she doesn’t know.” I snorted.

“(Y/n), she has to know! Better we tell her before she figures it out herself.”

“What is it?” Nita asked, growing impatient.

My eyes flashed at her, making the quick decision that Mirella was right. She did deserve to know. “This place... we’re in the death market.”

I watched as shock and horror creeped onto Nita’s face. She turned around and tried to process all the information. I almost felt bad for telling her, but Mirella was right. I remembered the first time I was brought here and I was already terrified. When I realized I was at the death market I was horrified, but after a while you just kind of learn to accept your fate.

“Nita...?” Mirella called out gently.

Suddenly, Nita whirled around and started pounding on the glass. “HEY! LET ME OUT! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!”

I shook my head, folding my arms. “You’re wasting your breath. Of course they can hear you. They just don’t care.”

Nita turned around and walked to a wall, suddenly punching it, startling me. She proceeded to check out the rest of her cell before continuing to ram herself against the glass.

I could hear Mirella giggling, but I couldn’t help looking at her with pity. She is really determined to get out of here, but all her efforts are futile. It’s hopeless here. She’s doomed to a horrible fate just like me and Mirella and everyone else who has been in here.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded at the entrance of the hall. I didn’t need to prick my ears up for this one. Their footsteps were all too familiar to me. 

Reyes and Kovit came bounding down the hall and I sat cross-legged on the floor with my arms crossed over my chest as they passed by. Reyes paid no attention to me, but Kovit flashed me a stupid smirk and I continued showing him the malice in my eyes. 

“Well, it’s awake,” Reyes stood in front of Nita’s cell. Nita was on the floor, but she stared back at Reyes with a cool expression. I was impressed. Even though she was screaming and throwing herself against the walls earlier, she looked at her enemy with a fearless gaze. But as she stood up, I could see her shaking.

“Go on then, Kovit.” Reyes opened the cell door to allow Kovit in and I bit my lip, watching with anticipation. The scene reminded me of the first time I had met Kovit myself.

“Relax, it’ll be over soon,” Kovit said cheekily. My eyes flashed as I saw Kovit pull out his switchblade. The scene was all too reminiscent of that one time. That one stupid time Kovit refuses to let me forget.

“What are you doing?” I could hear the panic in Nita’s voice. I wanted to look away, but the scene was too compelling. It was as if I saw myself in Nita’s position. Back to when I was backed up in my cell, that wild, hungry look in Kovit’s eyes, his switchblade ready to ease into my flesh.

Reye’s pulled down the slide of her gun, ready to shoot if necessary. Suddenly, Kovit leapt at Nita and swiftly sliced off a piece of her forearm’s skin.

I winced and glanced away as she screamed out. But when I looked away, I saw Kovit’s wild eyes from when he first inflicted pain on me. I cringed, thinking about the moment that changed the way how Kovit interacted with me. I was about to delve deep into that memory when Kovit spoke quietly, “You stopped it.”

That’s when I realized it had been quiet for a while. I looked up and saw Nita on the floor, her back against the wall and Kovit standing over her. “Stopped what?” Nita asked cautiously.

“You stopped the pain,” Kovit said, puzzled.

My eyes widened. Stopped the pain? So Kovit can’t feel her pain? Just what kind of unnatural is this girl? I couldn’t think of anything like it.

“Come out now, Kovit,” Reyes opened the door. “You can play with it later. We have what we need. Look how fast the wound clotted...exactly as promised.”

Kovit walked out of her cell and I could see how uneasy and confused he looked. I couldn’t help but to smirk. Good. It was refreshing to see Kovit caught off guard.

Kovit and Reyes began to walk out. When Kovit saw my grin his expression immediately changed into a glower before walking away without a second glance. I frowned. What the hell was that look for? Is he upset because I take joy in seeing how dumbfounded he looks? Ugh, what a sourpuss.

“Are you okay?” Mirella said softly.

My attention immediately shifted back to Nita and whatever joy I felt was very brief as it was instantly consumed with sympathy and sadness as I saw Nita crumpled on the floor, despair in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk now.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted and Nita glanced at me in surprise. “I should’ve told you about the zannie. He’s a monster...” Images from that day flooded my mind and I tried to shake them off. Now was not the time to dwell on it. “But he only listens to Reyes. He won’t hurt you on his own accord.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Nita scowled.

I looked away from her. “Look, obviously things aren’t going to be pleasant here. We’re here only to be tortured and sold. But Nita, I promise you I will do my best to prevent as much harm to you as possible.”

Nita laughed humorlessly. “I don’t see how you could from inside a cell, but okay.”

“Actually, Nita, I would trust in (y/n).” Mirella said. “You see, (y/n) is a- .” Mirella trailed off when she heard the footsteps of someone coming. Kovit’s footsteps. And he was coming with food.

Kovit handed out plates of food wordlessly to Nita and Mirella. Finally, he came to my cell and pushed a plate of cold raw meat into the feeder. He refused to look me in the eye. Normally, I would be pleased he wasn’t looking at me with that arrogant smirk, but it was too unsettling for me after what just happened with Nita.

“Kovit, is something the matter?” I asked carefully.

Kovit gave me a weird look before the corner of his lips tugged into a small sneer. “Why? Are you worried about me, love?”

I rolled my eyes in disgust and pulled the plate towards me. “Forget I even asked.”

“That’s sweet of you to ask, but worry about yourself, sweetheart.” Kovit seemed to be returning back to his usual aloof self. “I’ll be back.” He got up and turned to walk away, but as he left I sensed something amiss about him. Did something happen between him and Nita? I remember Kovit saying that she stopped the pain. After that Kovit didn’t seem quite right with himself.

_It’s not like you should care, (y/n)_ ,  I told myself.  _He’s a monster whose tortured you and other prisoners. Why does he deserve your pity?_

I irately took a bite from the red meat. Mirella’s words from earlier echoed in my ears.  _ “He’s just trying to get under your skin.”_

_ That’s right, (y/n), he’s just trying to get under your skin. It’s another one of his tricks. Don’t fall for it.  _

“Hey, Mirella,” Nita prompted. “You never finished what you were talking about.”

“Huh? Oh! I meant to say that (y/n) is a-” Mirella stopped herself short. “Uh, can I tell her, (y/n)?”

I smirked in amusement. I appreciated her asking first. “Go ahead.”

If Mirella’s eyes could sparkle, I’m sure they would. “(Y/n) is a kitsune!”


	2. Chapter 2

Nita looked at me in bewilderment. “A kitsune?!”

I grinned, already knowing what she was thinking. “Yes, we are an extremely rare species. And sadly, going extinct. That’s why I’m one of the highest prices in the market right now.”

“Wait, so are all the legends about you true? Can you really hypnotize people and generate fire? Can you also turn into a fox?” Nita’s eyes were wide with wonder.

I sighed. Oh boy, it’s debunking time. “No, we cannot hypnotize people, but we do use our beauty and charms to our advantage. Yes, we can create illusions. Yes, I could turn into a fox but shifting takes years of practice. Yes, we can shapeshift into any object or person. No, we don’t have pocket dimensions. Yes, I can dream walk. Yes, we can generate fire. And yes, I have a slightly sharper sense of smell and hearing.Any other questions?” There was actually something else about kitsune that was really embarrassing, so I decided not to tell Nita about it.

Nita processed everything I said in her head and then narrowed her eyes. “Just one. If you have all these powers, why don’t you just use them to get out of here? Use your fire to burn yourself out or something.”

I was offended she was even asking me. Does she think I’m stupid? “Hmm, gee, wish I thought of that!” I said sarcastically. I tapped on the glass of my cell. “See this? It’s heat-resistant tempered glass. My fire won’t do anything to it. And starting a fire in this tiny space? Not very smart unless I wanted to burn myself alive or suffocate from smoke. And I can’t use my shapeshifting to try and trick the others.” I pointed to a security camera in the corner of the ceiling. “That zannie keeps a 24-hour surveillance on us. He’d know I was an imposter. Same thing with illusions. People would be able to see the illusions with the naked eye, but not on camera. There’s no way out of here.”

Nita sighed hopelessly. “So much for that, then.” She nodded to Mirella. “What about you? What kind of unnatural are you?”

Mirella made it worth knowing she thought being called ‘unnatural’ was slightly offensive to her, but she proceeded to tell Nita about the legends of the pink dolphins and her abilities. 

Nita sighed and hit the wall in frustration. “God, can’t any of you do something to get us out?!”

I frowned. “Can’t you do anything besides heal yourself?” I said using her same tone of voice.

Nita hit the wall again as if it was a response. She paced around her cell again before punching the glass with her first. I winced as I heard a crack and realized her fingers had dislocated. 

“Oh my god, Nita, stop!” Mirella shrieked.

My ears picked up on Kovit’s footsteps and he made his way to our cells to retrieve our dishes. He stopped at Nita’s cell. “What wrong with your hand?”

Nita popped her joints back into place. “Nothing,” she said quickly. 

“Is that so?” Kovit analyzed Nita a bit more before turning around to face the three of us. “You girls might want to try and make yourselves look presentable for the buyers.” Kovit gave me one final look before departing. I hate how he always had to look at me like that. And I know it’s because we were thinking of the same thing; my first experience with the buyers, which was also my first introduction with Kovit.

It must’ve been a week and a half ago, the day I first came here. It was also the same day buyers had come.

“You’re very lucky,” Reyes had told the buyer. “We just got her today, so you’re the first to see her. However, since she is new, we have yet to find out what all the exact effects of her body parts are.”

“That’s alright,” the buyer replied with a grin that sent chills up my spine. “She is a real beauty, just like the legends say. I also hear kitsune have blood that makes for an amazing hallucinogen.”

“Ah, of course!” Reyes smiled. “There are indeed medical records that have proved such theory. Would you like to be the first to sample from her?”

“Would I ever,” the customer looked at me with a hunger in his eyes and I could feel myself shrinking. I wanted to go home, but I remembered there was no home to return to anymore.

“Kovit,” Reyes nodded to a young man that stood off behind her. “If you would please.”

That was the first time I had seen Kovit and I was absolutely scared of him. Those starving eyes and deranged smile complimented his dark and sketchy getup. Reyes opened the door and Kovit stepped inside, flicking open his switchblade.

_ Come on, (y/n), fight back!  _ I urged myself.  _ Hit him! Use your fire! Anything! _

But I was trembling too much and paralyzed from the fear. Kovit smiled and tilted his head. “This will hurt a bit.” In an instant, Kovit seized my arm and made a slash across the middle of my forearm.

I screamed in pain, but a few seconds later, I started getting a tingling sensation throughout my body. Something was feeling good. I couldn’t help the gasp of ecstasy that came out of my mouth. 

Kovit stared at me in surprise. “What- ?”

“What the hell was that?!” The customer look absolutely befuddled. 

That’s when I remembered kitsune can get energy by feeding off other people’s pleasure through physical contact. Kovit was the only touching me, so he must’ve been feeling the pleasure. That’s when I realized what Kovit really was. “You’re a zannie,” I gasped.

Kovit scoffed. “I don’t like that word, thank you very much.”

Before I could ask, the buyer grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Kovit. “Well that was quite interesting. I’ve read somewhere that kitsune feed off the pleasure of other people, but I didn’t think it was actually true. That makes it all the more interesting.” His tongue suddenly lapped at my arm and I cringed, trying to pull my arm away, but I was too weak.

The man let go and wiped his lip. “I wonder how quickly the effects will start taking place? I heard people have seen amazing things while on the high of kitsune blood. Some people have even claimed to see the future.”

Reyes smiled. “I’m glad you like her, Boulder. Once we get more experiments done, we will start auctioning prices.” She beckoned Kovit over. “Come on, Kovit. I think we’ve made decent progress today. You can continue playing with it later.”

Kovit smirked. “It would be my pleasure.” He turned to me and leaned in close, his breath hot on my ear. “And I suppose it would be yours, too.”

And it only got worse from there. A day or so after that, the buyer came back again and Kovit was ordered to draw blood from me. In an act of self defense I scorched his hand before he could get his blade close to me. That pissed him and Reyes off and Reyes threatened that if I ever used my fire again, she would have my hands cut off and sold for a good price. Then Kovit sliced a good amount of skin off my palm. I could feel the pleasure running through him as he gripped my fingers and reveled in my screams of agony. I could feel his energy start trickling into my body, and soon his own pleasure started to turn into mine. “Hah..!” I breathed out. 

Kovit finished slicing off my skin and balanced the flesh on his knife. Once he let go of my hand, the pleasure was gone and all I could focus on was the pain again. I continued writhing in agony and Kovit was looking absolutely euphoric as he watched me. I decided from that moment on I resented him more than anything. From the way how he always has that cocky smirk on his face, to the way he enjoys teasing me and putting me in pain through physical torture.

Reyes walked over and picked my flesh off the knife. Her cold eyes bore into me. “Consider this a warning,” she sneered. “Next time you step out of line, you’ll be losing a lot more than just a piece of skin.” She walked back out of the cage with Kovit following after her. 

“So can I eat its flesh?” The buyer asked.

“Unfortunately, kitsune flesh has never been consumed before. I would like to run some tests to see what effects it has before anyone tastes it.”

The buyer grumbled, but agreed with her nonetheless.

“It is interesting how it can feel pleasure from other people, but judging from what I’ve seen they can only feel it as long as they are touching the person.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’ll leave it up to Kovit whether he wants you to feel it or not.”

I still remember the way how Kovit looked at me then, his eyes narrowed with hunger and his lips spread into a wicked smile. 

“(Y/n), are you okay?”

Mirella’s soft voice snapped me back into the present. I looked up to see Nita staring back at me from her cell with her brows furrowed. I looked down at my left hand and then back at Nita.

“(Y/n), you were awfully silent for a long time. Are you okay?” Mirella called. “Nita said you were awake.”

“Nita, can you use your powers to heal others?” I ignored Mirella.

Nita tilted her head in confusion. “No. Why? Are you injured? Even if I could, we’re stuck in here so I can’t do anything for you.”

I sighed. “Worth a shot.” I pulled down the piece of cloth I had ripped from my shirt to wrap around my hand to check on my wound. It still looked nasty and the wound was healing very slowly, but at least it wasn’t infected. It still sucked that I couldn’t move my hand like how I used to, though. But I suppose once I’m out of here I’ll be in pieces by then. I rolled myself over onto my mattress. “I’m going to sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

I shut my eyes, but my mind kept running with memories of that day. The day where the buyer first came. The day where Kovit decided to keep humiliating me and hurting me for his own entertainment. That wicked smile and dark eyes that pierced my soul. He was the only thing that plagued my mind. Kovit. Kovit.

** Kovit. **

I opened my eyes, but instead of being in my cold and dull prison I found myself in an unfamiliar setting. I was on the streets of a city in broad daylight. There was surprisingly no one around. There were tall buildings made of glass and steel, lots of electronic screens and colorful signs, jumbled telephone wires running along the streets, and lots of palm trees and greenery scattered along the walkway. The smell was mostly of pungent sewage and pollution, but faint hints of jasmine was mixed in it. I realized then that this was a dream. But what was weird was that I was pretty sure I didn’t dream being able to use all my five senses.

What was weirder was that I was dreaming of a place I never been to. I have only ever lived in a small town in Ehime, but I’ve never been anywhere else in Japan. How could I dream so vividly of a place I’ve never been before? Curious, I started walking around. I didn’t know where I was going, but I allowed my feet to pull me along wherever they wanted. I wandered the streets, admiring the beautiful city and its modern architecture before I noticed one person standing in front of me. For a very brief moment, I was intrigued when I saw another person, but my mood turned sour when I saw who was in front of me. “Oh, it’s you.”

Kovit laughed. “You sound disappointed. But then again, I was probably thinking of you a lot.”

I scowled. “Excuse me?! Are you some kind of pervert or something?”

Kovit frowned, but then laughed again. “Wow, you’re quite realistic for my fantasy.”

My face reddened and I could feel my blood practically boiling, but then it hit me. He wasn’t flirting with me. He thinks he’s dreaming. And that’s because he  is . I was dream walking in his dream. My eyes widened when it dawned on me. “How is that possible?” I muttered.

Kovit eyed me. “You know, since this is happening,” he reached his arm over to wrap around my waist. “I think we could finally have some real fun- “

I blushed and punched him hard in the side. “Not in a million years!”

“Ow!” Kovit grasped his side, but then his eyes flicked up at me in surprise. “Wait, why did that actually hurt?”

I rolled my eyes. “Assuming you aren’t making fun of my strength, isn’t it obvious? I’m dream walking. I must’ve been thinking about you so hard that my spirit willed itself so I could manifest in your dream.”

Kovit stared at me for a few seconds before smirking. “Ah, so it was actually you who was thinking about me and not the other way around.”

“Hey, look who’s talking! You were about to seduce me in your dream!” I protested. “I don’t think of you that way!”

“Then why are you blushing?” Kovit countered with an amused smile on his face.

Only then I was aware of my already warm face getting even warmer at his remark. “Shut up! It was an accident! I didn’t mean to manifest in your dream.”

“Well, at least stay to keep me company?”

I would have refused immediately, but I could hear the sincerity in his voice. It made me wonder how lonely Kovit was. With him being an unnatural who always worked with Reyes, did he have time to make any friends? 

No, (y/n), don’t feel sorry for the zannie, dammit! Remember the countless people he has hurt.

I inclined my head to the vast empty city. “Where are we anyway?”

Kovit plucked some lint off his jacket. “Bangkok.”

“Bangkok?” I mused. “You’re from Thailand?”

He nodded.

I frowned at his lack of elaboration. “Why’s it so empty here?”

Kovit shrugged. “Might as well be, anyway.The streets are oddly peaceful when no one’s around.” He started walking and I followed.

“Do you miss home?” I asked.

“Does it matter? Even if I could go back, there’s no family for me to return to.”

My heart suddenly ached for him. “I can understand that. A few weeks ago, there was an incident in my village. My neighbor’s house caught on fire and they were still trapped in there. I recklessly used my powers to manipulate the flames so I could get him out safely, but by then everyone knew what I was. Soon the whole village heard about me and my family being kitsune, and they raided us quickly afterwards. My own parents were killed in front of me and my brother and I were captured. I don’t know where he is, but I cannot walk in his dreams and he hasn’t been in mine. Spiritually, of course. I still have nightmares about that day. So I was captured and the next thing I knew, I was being put on auction at the death market.”

Kovit was silent for a minute before saying, “I’m so sorry.”

I glanced at him in surprise. “What’s this? The zannie actually has empathy?!”

Kovit glared back at me. “You know, I really hate that word.”

I recalled how he said something to me like that before. “But why? It’s what you are.”

“Zannie is the product of miscommunication between languages. There was once in a war in Thailand where a soldier enjoyed the conflict so much, people couldn’t tell which side of the war she was on. People called her ‘sang’, meaning blood. But somehow in English it got written as ‘zang’ and now ‘zannie’. In any case, I hate that word.”

“Oh,” I said. “So what should I call you?”

He chuckled. “Kovit is fine. No one really knows what zannies are supposed to be called. But if you really insist on calling me something else, I think something like ‘sir’ or ‘master’ would sound good,” he joked.

I rolled my eyes, but a smile played onto my lips. “I think I’ll stick with Kovit, thanks.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said lightly. “Ah,” he turned around and smiled at me. “I’m sure the buyers will be here any minute, so this will be the part where I wake up.”

“Wait- !“ but the world around me already started fading and I jerked awake back onto my cold lumpy mattress in my prison cell.

The sound of footsteps alerted me and I sat straight up. Three men and a woman. Shit, the market must be open right now.

Four figures made their way down the hall. Reyes, her two guard dogs, and her customer Boulder. He stopped in front of my cell first, grinning maliciously down at me. “Hello, pretty one.”

I glared up at Boulder but didn’t say anything. His smile widened. “I missed you. You know, your blood is really quite exquisite. It’s the perfect hallucinogen.”

“I have the results from the flesh sample,” Reyes said. “Turns out kitsune skin cells produce hyaluronic acid, which can make a person look younger.”

Boulder’s eyes glinted. “How peculiar. I’ve always heard kitsune preserve their looks to seem a lot younger than they are.”

More footsteps sounded down the hall and I immediately discerned them as Kovit’s. “Sorry I’m late.” 

Reyes shot him a death glare and Kovit smiled sheepishly at her in apology. 

Boulder moved on to Mirella’s cell and as he spoke to her Kovit locked eyes with me. Neither of us said a word to each other, but acknowledgment from the night before flashed through both of our eyes. That’s when I realized how bad Kovit looked. He had dark bags under his eyes and his posture seem more lazy. Did me manifesting in his dreams affect his sleep that badly? I felt kinda bad, especially since I didn’t mean to invade his dreams.

“But first!” Boulder’s voice brought my attention back to what was happening. “I see you have something new in stock.” His eyes landed on Nita and I could see her begin to panic. “What’s that one?”

“Ah, it arrived yesterday,” Reyes explained. “It can heal itself. We’ve posted a video online.”

“Yes, I’ve heard whispers about this one.”

“We’re analyzing the composition of some of its skin now. But we haven’t removed anything else...yet.”

“What about cutting parts off? Can it regrow-“

“We’re monitoring the progress of a current injury to learn more about how it heals.”

“Hmm...I’d love to see a demonstration.”

I could see Nita start panicking, but she was frozen in fear, unable to move or say anything. Again, I was reminded of myself. 

“Kovit, have your fun.” Reyes ordered.

One of Reyes’ guard dogs opened the door as Kovit stepped out opening his switchblade. I suddenly felt scared for Nita.

_Don’t waste your time worrying about others, (y/n)_ ,  I scolded myself.  _ It will only make your time in here more unbearable. _

But weren’t you also the one who said you’d protect her as much as you could, I contradicted myself.

_ Ugh! Stupid!  _

“Okay, Nita,” Kovit’s voice sounded exhausted. “Either you let me cut you or...you can suffer something much worse.”

Nita glanced over at Reyes’ guard dog Jorge who pulled the slide back on his gun with a clicking sound. Reluctantly, she held her arm out.

“Good choice.” Kovit sliced her arm and suddenly I was wondering how this man in front of me was the same guy I was getting along with in his dream.

“Why isn’t she healing?” Boulder growled.

That’s when I realized Nita didn’t scream. In fact, she was showing no emotion on her face. I guess this is what Kovit meant when he said she stopped the pain. Nita was probably using her abilities to not feel pain.

“You’re slowing your healing on purpose, aren’t you.” Reyes said. “I see you don’t like our little demonstration. But I need you to be a good girl and start healing, or else I’m afraid things will get...unpleasant.”

“Do you expect her healing properties will transfer over once the flesh is consumed?” Boulder asked.

“We believe so, but we don’t have conclusive proof yet. Besides, it doesn’t just heal. Kovit hasn’t been reacting to the open wound, which means you can’t feel pain,” Reyes confronted Nina. “Can you? I bet you tampered with your own sensory stimuli. Clever trick. If pain won’t motivate you...there are a great many other things that will.” She looked at Kovit. “Cut off her fingers. Let’s see if they grow back-“

“WAIT!” I cried.

Everyone turned to me in surprise. Kovit looked at me as if I was crazy, and I suppose I was by interrupting Reyes like this. But now what? Everyone’s attention diverted from Nina to me. What was I supposed to do now? Change my mind and let them hurt her?

_No_ ,  I thought, looking straight at Nita.  _ I promised I would protect you, and so I will. _

“Hurt me instead,” I said. Honestly, this plan was very stupid, but if I could at least help one person without it going wrong, I was willing to take that chance. I nodded at Kovit. “He hasn’t been fed in a while, hasn’t he? There’s no point in hurting her if he can’t feel anything. Besides,” my gaze shifted to Boulder. “I bet that small lick of blood wasn’t enough for you. Don’t you want some more of my blood?”

Kovit’s eyes widened and he started shaking his head and moving his hand across his neck as a signal for me to shut up, but Reyes smirked.

“Oh? And since when did you start to care about Kovit? Don’t tell me you two have gotten friendly already. But since you’re absolutely right, I’m willing to take that offer as long as my customer is willing to have a price on your blood.”

Boulder’s eyes glinted in interest. “Throw in a piece of skin and you got yourself a deal.”

“Fine,” I said. As long as they didn’t start taking pieces of Nita. “It’s a deal then.”

Nita gasped. “No, wait, stop! It’s healing, look!” Nita held up her arm to show the wound which was quickly closing, but Reyes shook her head.

“Too late. Your idiotic friend decided to interrupt my bargaining and now she has to make up for it. Although I will admit it’s a little unfair as she can absorb some Kovit’s energy as her own, but I’ll let Kovit decide what he wants to do.”

Kovit walked into my cell as Reyes opened it for him and looked me dead in the eye. “Are you out of your mind?” 

I met his gaze evenly. “Perhaps.”

Kovit sighed and shook his head. “Hold on to me.” He held out his hand in front of him.

I stared at him.  “ Are you out of  _your_ mind?! You know what happens if I touch you when you do this.”

“Sure,” Kovit shrugged. “But would you rather at least be distracted from the pain while I do this or not?”

“I’ll be absorbing some of your energy,” I argued. “What if you starve?”

“I’ll be fine as long as you hurry up and make a decision, unless you want to feel the pain  and Reyes’ wrath.”

I looked him in the eye with a bit of pity before taking his hand. Kovit moved up the sleeve of my shirt and squeezed my hand as his blade dug into the skin of my shoulder. I screamed as I felt like my nerves were being being set on fire and I tried my best to stay still. Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation start up in my fingertips and palm before it started spreading throughout the rest of my body. While Kovit was getting satisfaction from my pain, a little bit of his energy started flowing through me. I sighed in ecstasy at the feeling. As Kovit carved a piece out of me, the pain got more intense as well as the pleasure. I gripped Kovit’s hand even harder. “Mm...hah!” I cried out.

And just a quickly as it happened, it disappeared as soon as Kovit let go of my hand. Suddenly, the feeling of pain came back to me all together and I screamed out in agony. I wanted to cover my wound, but one of one of Reyes’ guards Lorenzo stepped forward and held a vial underneath my wound, capturing my blood.

Kovit’s eye twitched and he grinned widely, that crazed look returning in his eye. He walked out of my cell and presented my piece of skin on his blade. “Here’s the skin.”

Boulder smiled nefariously. “How much?”

“Two hundred dollars or or 718 Sol for the blood and four fifty or 1616 Sol for the flesh.” Reyes said.

“I’ll take it.”

“Good, then. Lorenzo, pack up the blood and flesh and have it prepared for Boulder.” Her eyes flashed at Boulder. “I expect your payment in this lifetime.”

“Of course, I’ll have my people bring the money.” He inclined his head towards Nita. “And how much for her bit of flesh?”

“We’ll be auctioning that later this week. Jorge, go store it for me, will you?”

As Jorge went to retrieve the cut off flesh from Nita’s cell, Boulder sauntered over to Mirella’s cell. “Don’t worry, little one. I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” The way how he spoke to her enraged me. I clenched my fists as I held my wound.

“You’ll honor our arrangement,” he shook hands with Reyes. “Her eyes are really exquisite.”

Just then, Lorenzo walked back into the room and Reyes glared at him. She swiftly caught him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. “If I ever catch you using unicorn bone on the job again, I will give you to Kovit.”

Ah, so Reyes noticed her little guard dog was high out of his mind. I glanced at Kovit and he smiled at Lorenzo, his eyebrow arched. Kovit started looking like his usual self again, which relieved me that he at least wasn’t going hungry anymore. I wasn’t sure why I cared so much, though. Maybe after I talked to Kovit in his dream and saw a glimpse of another side of him I started to realize that maybe he isn’t exactly as bad as I first made him out to be.

Reyes relaxed her hold on Lorenzo. “Now bring the girl, Lorenzo,” she ordered.

Lorenzo opened the door to Mirella’s cell and Jorge and Lorenzo stepped inside. I suddenly heard a rustle followed by a thud and a scream.

Oh, god, Mirella! I flinched as I continued to hear was sounded like Mirella fighting back and screaming.

_This is why you shouldn’t have gotten attached to them_ , (y/n) , a voice from the back of my brain scolded me.  _ You started caring for Nita and now looked what happened. You can’t help Mirella now. _

Damn it! I bit my lip as the noises continued. Suddenly, Mirella was dragged out of her cell screaming and kicking. It was the first time I had seen her. My inmate who always kept me company and was always compassionate towards others. Someone who I had considered a friend without having a face to place her name. Seeing her now, it devastated me and broke my heart.

“MIRELLA!” I screamed through the glass. 

As she was being dragged away, Mirella looked back at me with tears streaming down her face. “Help me,” she whimpered.

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, fighting back the tears that started to pool in my eyes. God, how could I be so useless?! 

Suddenly, Nita screamed out. “STOP IT!”

Reyes suddenly turned around “Oh? Is there something you wanted to say? Upset for your cellmate?”

“Her name is Mirella,” Nita growled.

Reyes huffed in amusement. “So it is.”

I was impressed. Nita was actually standing up to Reyes. She was crazy, but then again, I had just done the same for her.

“I find it quite interesting that the three of you are willing to save one another. But as this one here has demonstrated,” she gestured to me. “I won’t let you all off that easily. So what I’m getting at is that you’re willing to do anything to save her,” she nodded at Mirella. “Is that right?”

Nita didn’t say anything, but met Reyes’ gaze evenly. Despite her fearless stare, I could see Nita trembling. 

“How interesting,” Reyes grinned. “Unfortunately, I won’t take any offers you’re making me this time as I did with the other one. But, I’m feeling nice enough to give you a choice. You can either lose three fingers, or turn your pain receptors back on and let Kovit have his fun with you for an hour. The choice is yours.”

I scowled at Reyes. “What the hell kind of a choice is that?!”

Reyes’s gaze fluttered over to me. “Oh, I suppose you think your efforts to save her were in vain? Don’t worry, I’m being plenty merciful to her. And considering how you did make me money today, I’m willing to overlook your troublesome behavior. Just for today, though. So be a good girl from now on and stay out of trouble unless you want to end up like the dolphin.” And with that, Reyes turned on her heels and departed the room with Mirella’s screams echoing in my ears.


	3. Chapter 3

I watched as Kovit opened the door to Nita’s cell and stepped in.

“I’m not turning my pain circuits back on,” Nita said firmly.

I saw Kovit twirl his switchblade in his hand and for a second I wondered if he was really going to cut off her fingers, but then he closed his knife. “I don’t blame you,” he pocketed his knife. “If you turned the pain back on, you couldn’t protect yourself...” he looked back at her with a smirk as he exited her cell. “From me.”

“You mean you’re not...you’re not going to...”

Kovit bolted Nita’s cell shut. “No.” He turned around to leave as Nita slumped to the floor, but I couldn’t help calling out his name.

Kovit looked back at me, his expression hard to read. He stood there waiting for me to say something, but what should I say? I called him out for something, but why? To ask if my visit to him last night affected his sleep? Or why he chose not to cut Nita’s fingers off? “Um...”

Kovit realized I had no excuse for talking to him. “Nice stunt you pulled today. But if I were you, I’d look out for yourself.” And he turned around and left.

I was puzzled by his statement, but I suddenly realized Nita was still on the floor and weeping.

“Nita,” I called out softly. “Are you alright?”

Nita’s head shot up and her icy glare pierced into me. “What are you playing at? What is the deal with you and that zannie?! Are you two conspiring or something?”

I was a bit taken back at her sudden rage, but I tried to imagine myself in her situation and sighed. “Nita... I am so sorry you were brought here and I’m sorry I couldn’t do enough to protect you. Or Mirella.”  _ And my family _ , I thought. “Kovit and I...there’s nothing going on between us. We’re not friends and I certainly do not conspire with him-“

“Then why didn’t you tell me about your ability?” Nita snapped. “I saw how you looked when he tortured you. You liked it! And the way how he treats you...it’s different.”

I’ll admit since I visited Kovit in his dream, he has been acting nicer towards me and he didn’t seem to care about humiliating me anymore, but I didn’t have a good explanation as to why that is. As for not telling Nita... “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Kitsune do have the ability to draw energy from other people’s pleasure just like how zannies draw energy through people’s pain. But unlike zannies, we can only feel it through physical contact. I didn’t tell you earlier because,” my face flushed. “I accidentally discovered it while I was here. When Kovit first hurt me, I was able to feel the pleasure he felt from hurting me. And I couldn’t hide how good it felt. Since then, Kovit liked to tease me about it and he would never let me forget about that incident.” I looked up at Nita. “Do you realize the shame and embarrassment I felt? Every time I saw him I could only think about how good I felt when he was hurting me. 

“Everyone knows that zannies can feel pain themselves, and yet they still choose to inflict it on others for their own pleasure. It’s pretty fucked up. But do you have any idea what it’s like for me to enjoy that? To actually like it when he inflicts pain on purpose? It’s disgusting. I don’t know if you knew this, but kitsune have always despised zannies. There are accounts of kitsune women being abducted by them. The zannies would force themselves on the women and torture them at the same time, so both parties would feel intense pleasure. But of course, not many kitsunes were ever seen again; many were assumed to have been raped, tortured, and then killed by the zannies. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve been going extinct.”

“That’s horrible,” Nita gasped.

“It is,” I agreed. “I used to think Kovit was just like those kinds of zannies. Up until today, that is. When he offered me his hand, I realized it was because he didn’t want me to suffer as badly. I know Kovit is still a horrible person for torturing others, but...I feel like there’s something about him that we don’t know. Something that makes him seem like he’s not like the monster he says he is.” I remembered the dream last night where I told Kovit about my family and how Kovit actually had true sympathy in his apology. He seemed to have more empathy than I thought. “I believe there is some good in him.”

Nita looked at the floor silently before speaking. “Well, he did decide not to cut off my fingers. But I still don’t think I can trust him.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” I said. “I don’t trust him either. I’m just saying that maybe Kovit actually has...empathy.”

Nita scoffed. “I’ve never known of a zannie to have empathy. Especially since they choose to inflict pain on others.”

“That’s true,” I said. But I couldn’t help feeling that Kovit wasn’t pure evil. Unlike Reyes.

There was a bit of silence between us. 

“Do you think Mirella is ever coming back?” Nita asked. I could see that she was truly worried for her.

I sighed. I haven’t been here long, but when I was first here there was someone else I didn’t get the chance to acquaint myself with because he was taken away the next day and I never saw him again. “I don’t know.” I really wished there was something I could’ve done to save Mirella. It seemed every time I tried to do something good, it all went wrong. I tried to save my neighbor, and in turn my parents were slaughtered in front of my eyes and my little brother is missing while I’m waiting to be sold. I tried to prevent Nita from losing her fingers, and in turn Reyes was going to have her tortured anyway and possibly me if she wasn’t in such a good mood. It seemed like trying to actually do good was just a waste doomed to backfire on me.

“I feel like this is all my fault.” Nita grumbled.

My eyes shot up at her. “Nita, don’t say that! It isn’t your fault. You tried to save her. This is all because of Reyes. She’s the one that handles the bargaining and transactions.”

“But what if this is my karma?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Nita hugged her legs to her chest. “My mother...I would often dissect the bodies of unnaturals she she brought home. I performed my job within a luxury of ignorance. But that does not make me innocent. My mom always protected me from the dark reality of what had happened to the bodies before they wound up on my table. I never had to see their suffering. Until...until she brought home a live boy. I watched as my mom tortured him...cut off pieces of his body while he screamed and begged. While my mom was asleep, I snuck him out of his cage and got him on a bus. And now...I’m the one in the cage. If I had gone with him my mom would have just tracked us both down. And still...” she squeezed her legs tighter. “Not getting on that bus feels like the stupidest decision I’ve ever made. Now my own mother gave me away to the death market.”

I considered her story and the corners of my lips twitched. “So you’re feeling guilt over your actions and now you think that this is some twisted punishment for letting that boy go? Nita, I think you did a good thing by setting him free. And it sucks that your mom put you in here. But Nita, you saved someone’s life. That counts for something.”

“Even at the cost of my own life? And possibly many others? My mom is still out there and she might be continuing her work without me.”

I fiddled with the binding on my left hand mindlessly. “Nita, let me tell you a story about an 18 year-old kitsune girl who lived in a small village in Ehime, Japan...”

I recounted the day like it was yesterday...

“Moooom!! (Y/n) took some of my natto!”

I snickered and poked my little brother in the side playfully. “Hey, I’m helping you out. You could lose a few pounds.”

My mother sighed and came over to the table with a container in her hands, putting more natto on his plate. “(Y/n), you know Nobu is a growing boy. He needs to eat as much as possible.”

I gawked at her. “That’s funny, I recall you telling me I needed to eat less at his age.”

My mother chuckled. “That’s because I was worried boys weren’t going to like you if you kept eating the way you did.”

“Well, there was no need to worry because all the boys in the village practically throw themselves at my feet.” I boasted.

“Ah, because I had to stop you from overeating?” My mom teased.

“No! It’s because people like us are just naturally more attractive than others.”

“(Y/n), hush,” my father warned. “I know it’s just us in the house, but you never know who could be listening. Speaking of which, your mother and I still need to teach you guys how to shift so we’ll need to find a secluded place to do so.”

“How hard could it be?” I asked. “Kids at Nobu’s age already master transforming. Surely shifting is the same?”

“It is not,” my mother explained. “Channeling your inner spirit is a lot harder to manifest. Transformation is a matter of creating an image in your mind and being able to reflect that image onto yourself. Turning into a fox is a bit more complicated than that.”

“Your fox form is your kitsune spirit,” my father continued. “Consider your body a prison for that spirit. Only you can unlock that cage by getting in touch with that spirit. But you must be careful to keep a tight hold on your spirit. If you shift and are not able to keep in touch with your humanity, you can go full on fox and may never be able to turn back. Not to worry though, your mother and I will be able to teach you how to shift and control your state of being in your form.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, that makes me feel safe, knowing I may be a fox for the rest of my life.”

My father smiled gently at me and ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry, your mother and I will make sure that won’t happen.”

We were suddenly startled when a scream rang out.

My father immediately stood up from the dining table. “That sounded like Akira-san from next door!”

“Ken, wait!” My mother called, chasing after my father. Nobu and I exchanged glances and followed them outside.

When we ran out of the house we saw our neighbor Mrs. Akira and her husband outside in a panic. Smoke was rising out of the house and pouring out the windows, the putrid smell of chemicals mixed in with the burning.

“Akira-san!” My parents rushed over to the two adults. There were other bystanders around, gasping and murmuring to each other. 

“My father!” Mrs. Akira clutched onto my mother. “He’s still in there!”

“Okay, okay,” my mother said, trying to calm her down. “Did anyone call the fire department?”

“Yes, just now.” Mr. Akira said.

My mother and father looked at each other with grim expressions. The nearest fire station from Ozu was an hour away. Even then, it was a pretty shitty department. There was no telling how long it would take them to get here. 

“He’s not going to make it out in time,” I murmured.

Nobu looked at me. “He’s not?” I could see the fear in his eyes and his body started trembling. I looked back at the house. I could see Mrs. Akira’s father Mr. Fujiwara standing at his window, coughing. I turned back to Nobu and clasped his shaky hands. “No. But I won’t let that happen.”

I got up and ran up to the Akiras’ door.

“(Y/n), what are you doing?!” My mother shrieked.

“(Y/n), get back!” My father commanded.

I ignored them and opened the door, the handle hot in my hand. I pulled the door open and a blast of heat and smoke greeted me. The house was made of wood so everything was burning quickly and all I could see was red, orange, and yellow. I coughed as smoke wrapped around me, but I pushed forward anyway.

I made my way to the stairs and as I expected, the fire was slowly eating them away. I held my hand out and focused, trying to channel the fire’s energy. Soon I felt a tingling sensation at the tips of my fingers and I swayed my hand to the right, the flames following my motion. Once the stairs were cleared, I dashed up them and continued moving more fire out of my way until I found Mr. Fujiwara.

“Mr. Fujiwara!” I scrambled towards the window, yelping and coughing as I avoided falling flaming beams.

“(Y/n)?” Mr Fujiwara stammered, trying to see me through the smoke and ash. I quickly grabbed onto him and crouched down. I used my free hand to control the flames, moving them aside as I forced our way through.

“W-what are you doing?” Mr. Fujiwara was astonished, but I continued pushing forward and moving the flames, ignoring the stinging in my eyes, the sweltering heat, and the smoke that engulfed me. It was hard to weave out of the house with so much fire and burning objects falling around us, but I soon managed to pull ourselves out of the house by moving aside the fire that had already burned the door down and lined around the frame.

“Oh my god! Otousan!” Mrs. Akira ran straight to Mr. Fujiwara and carried him off of me.

My parents and Nobu rushed to me, pulling me into their embrace as I collapsed into their arms, coughing up my lungs.

“(Y/n),” my mother’s eyes glimmered with tears. “What have you done,” she whispered.

“Hey!” Mr. Akira strode over to us. “Your daughter moved those flames!”

That’s when I realized the grave mistake I made. In saving Mr. Fujiwara, I had betrayed my family’s secret. Now everyone was going to know how my entire family are kitsune.

My father stared at Mr. Akira with a stone-cold gaze. “You saw wrong. The chemicals from the fire must be messing with your brain.”

“Come on, we’ve all seen it!” Mr. Akira sneered. He turned around to the bystanders that crowded the street. “You all saw her control the fire, right?!”

The crowd nodded and murmured in agreement. Fuck. We were so screwed.

Mr. Akira looked down on us. “So you’re all kitsune, huh?” It wasn’t even worth mentioning that being kitsune was a genetic thing and there was always a chance one or more of us weren’t, but it didn’t matter. We were caught.

The crowd soon started to surround us, looking at us with menace and hatred. My mother and father held me and Nobu close to them. I would have been terrified in that moment, but too much adrenaline was pumping into me.

Kitsune have always been feared by humans. In the past, they were creatures of trickery. Some like to pull harmless pranks with illusions, but others liked to abuse their powers to cause harm to humans. 

The crowd started closing in on us and my father held out his hand as a shield. “Stay back!”

The crowd immediately took a pace backwards, scared of getting burned. My father then picked me up and brought my mother and Nobu close to him while my mother held her hands up, daring anyone to try and touch us. We were slowly backing away and when we made sure no one would dare come near us, we made a run for it.

We ran all the way to the edge of town until everyone was out of breath and my father set me down. He suddenly looked at me with anger flaring in his eyes. “(Y/n), you idiot!!! How could you be so stupid??!!”

I was suddenly angry that he was mad at me. “Oh, what, was I just supposed to let him die??!!”

“Yes!!! You should’ve just left him in there!! And now because of you we’re gonna be the ones dead if we don’t get out of here!”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I started to feel tears fall down my face. God, I was so stupid. He was right. I had just endangered all our lives by saving someone.

“Alright, everyone just calm down!” My mother intervened. “The damage has been done and there’s nothing that can change that. Let’s just focus on getting out of here. Now, where could we possibly go from here? And what essentials do we need to survive until then?”

My father heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples. “We have no immediate family or friends. There’s no one we can stay with. We could catch a train to Yawatahama, but trying to get a new house or apartment would be tricky.”

“Couldn’t we just call INHUP?” Nobu asked. “They protect unnaturals, don’t they?”

“They also get rid of the bad ones,” my mother said. “If anything, some of the villagers may have already called INHUP about us. And sadly, our species is already on their List of Dangerous Unnaturals.”

“God, I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “This is all my fault.”

“You were only trying to do the right thing, (y/n),” my mother consoled me. “Let’s just focus on what we can do now.”

We were working on our plan on how to escape Ozu, but soon some of the villages found us and they were armed with knives. My mother and father did everything they could to protect Nobu and me, blasting fire at some of the villagers, but one of them caught onto me. With my mother and father distracted trying to free me, I watched in terror as their throats were slit open, dark red blood spraying onto my face. Their eyes were wide in shock, but they couldn’t scream. It was at that moment I lost all sense of everything around me. My blood was pumping and my heart beat out of my chest as I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “NOOOOOO!!!!”

I pulled free and immediately channeled all my rage and adrenaline into heat, sending a large wave of fire at the assailant. They screamed as their flesh started to burn and I could hear Nobu screaming and wailing behind me. I couldn’t stand to look at my parent’s bodies, possibly convulsing underneath me, so I just kept my gaze forward as I started fending off anyone that came near us with scorching fire. Tears were streaming down my face and I inhaled shallow breaths, breathing getting difficult from all the adrenaline that was rushing through me.

I wasn’t even aware of it, but Nobu had suddenly left my side and I didn’t realize it until it was too late. Something struck me in the back of my head and I was out like a light. I don’t know what happened while I was out, but next thing I knew I was blindfolded and gagged. I couldn’t see where I was, but I knew I was on a ship. At first, I was so scared that it was INHUP and they’ve captured me to have me executed.

If only that was what happened. When my blindfold and gag came off, I found that my fate was to end up at the death market to be sold for worse purposes. I never saw my brother again and I had failed my family. And it was all because of my decision to help someone.

“You know how fucked up and traumatizing it is to watch your parents be killed right in front of you?” I said to Nita once I finished telling her my story. “To have watched their expression as they were slaughtered and having their blood splattered right onto you? I couldn’t even look at their bodies one last time because I couldn’t bear to look at what I had done to them. And my own little brother Nobu. He was only ten and I’m not sure what happened to him. I like to think he’s safe, but he’s probably dead because of me.”

Nita looked into my eyes. Then at my hands. I realized then that they were shaking. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. “I’m so sorry,” Nita choked. “I can’t even imagine.”

I took a shaky breath.  _Calm yourself._ “The reason I’m telling you this Nita is because you and I are similar. But you are not guilty, Nita. I had a very hard time trying to accept that, but once I realized that anyone else in my position would’ve done the same it became easier to accept.”

Nita looked away. “I don’t know. It’s was my decision to free that boy as it was your decision to save your neighbor. We only made these decisions because it’s what we thought was right. But that’s the problem. We  thought  it was the right thing to do. Most only follow the set of morals that society has laid down for themselves, but that kind of morality just gets in the way. Maybe it’s better to not have any set of morals at all.”

I analyzed her silently. Nita was slouched over and hugging her legs close to her chest still, but her eyes were drying and they seemed glassy. “Perhaps you’re right,” I said. “In this world where survival matters, sometimes it is necessary to throw away morals. But that may not be always the case.”

Nita looked away from me and crawled onto her mattress. “I’m tired,” her voice sounded so dull. I could understand. She’s been through a lot today.

“Okay,” I nodded. “Night, Nita.” I laid down on my own mattress and wondered if Mirella was ever going to come back. Usually the ones that are taken out from here never do, but I really wished the first time I had seen Mirella would not be my last. I’ve already lost so much already. Just, please, let her be okay.

My eyes shifted to the security camera in the corner of my cell. I’m sure Kovit only fell asleep when all the other prisoners did. I wondered if he ever got bored and lonely while he was forced to sit in that room all day. 

I actually kind of enjoyed walking in Kovit’s dream last night, now that I think of it. It was nice, just talking casually with each other without him torturing me. I wondered if I could will myself to manifest in his dream again? There are some things I wished to talk to him about in private after today.

I shifted into a comfortable position on my mattress and closed my eyes. I wasn’t exactly sure how to enter one’s dream, but the last time I did it I was thinking about Kovit a lot and then suddenly I found myself in his dream. I decided it was worth a shot.

I pictured Kovit in my mind. I thought of his messy black hair hair and clear brown skin. I imagined his dark brown eyes with that mischievous glint and the way how his eyebrows arched. I could practically see that arrogant smirk that curled at the corner of his lips.  _ Please, Kovit. I need to see you. _


	4. Chapter 4

I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a lush green jungle. I’ve seen this jungle before and I realized this is what the death market looked like outside of Reyes’ prison. Like the last dream, it was empty and I wondered if spirit dreams were void of any other people the brain conjured up itself or if Kovit just really didn’t have dreams with people in it. The second idea made me sad for some reason. 

Remembering I could use my senses in spirit dreams, I pricked my ears up, trying to detect any sign of Kovit around. I stretched my sense as far as they could go, detecting all sorts of sounds; the light rustle of leaves and vines, the water swishing near the docks. I heard the faintest bit of fidgeting there and decided that would be my first place to check. It would’ve been so much easier if I could have just smelled him out, but unfortunately I couldn’t smell things outside of my glass cage in that prison, so I didn’t quite have Kovit’s scent down yet.

I followed the fidgeting noise as it got louder and louder until I was at the docks and saw Kovit sitting there, his legs crisscrossed as he looked out into the water. I sauntered over next to him and sat down.

“I’m assuming if you’re here, then you’re walking into my dream again?” Kovit didn’t even look at me as he spoke.

I smirked. “Oh, what? You don’t dream of me normally?”

Kovit chuckled and his eyes glanced at me. They surprisingly looked gentle. “And why would I tell you that? It would only fuel your ego if you knew.”

My face flushed. I couldn’t believe it. This man was actually flirting with me. “M- _ my  _ ego?!” I stammered. “I’m not quite like you, you know.”

Kovit smiled and looked back at the sea. “I think you are.”

I cocked my head in confusion. “What do you mean?” I remembered how Mirella said something similar to me a while ago, but I wasn’t sure what she had meant by that. He hurts people for pleasure. I’m nothing like him.

“Why’d you come here?” Kovit changed the subject. “Were you thinking about me in your sleep again?”

“Yes, actually, but this time on purpose. I wanted to talk to you. Privately.”

Kovit’s eyes shifted to me and his expression turned serious. “About what?”

Great question. I had so many questions, I wasn’t sure where to start. “Why didn’t you cut off Nita’s fingers?” We’ll start with something easy.

Kovit shrugged. “It seemed like a waste. All that pain and suffering, and no one to benefit from it. Especially after that little stunt you pulled. Everyone was shocked. It was very stupid of you to do that.”

“Yeah, well, you looked starved so at least you got something out of it.”

Kovit smirked. “Why do you care about whether or not I feed? I thought you hated me?”

“I’m not very fond of you,” I admitted. “But I think with all the recent events that have been happening I’ve been beginning to see sides of you I had never seen before.”

Kovit raised an eyebrow at me. “And you’re not scared that one day I’ll decide to not touch you as I cut you? Make you feel all of the pain with no pleasure?”

I considered it. “Even when you touch me, the pain is still there. I can feel it, but there’s pleasure mixed in with it. And it only lasts for a second until you let go of me and suddenly I can only feel pain. I got another question for you.”

“Trying to pick my brain today, huh?” Kovit snorted. “Very well.”

“In our last dream- well... _ your  _ last dream, you said you were from Thailand. Why did you move?”

“Curious about my past, huh?” Kovit teased.

“Just answer the question,” I wasn’t in the mood for his games. “Unless you want me to leave.”

Kovit hesitated. “No...I’d much rather you stay. Alright, then. I’ll bite. I lived in Thailand until I was ten. My mother was captured by INHUP and executed.”

The answer surprised me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and wondered if I should’ve forced him to talk about his past if I hadn’t known it would’ve been painful memories. “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling sympathetic and a bit awkward. I understood what is was like to have your parent killed because of their own nature.

“Don’t be,” Kovit said bluntly. 

“Why?” I asked.

That’s when Kovit’s trademark disturbing smirk creeped onto his face. “Because I’m the one who called INHUP and told them about her.”

“Wait,” I interrupted. Out of all the things that surprised me today, this took the cake. “You turned your own mother in?!” Man, this guy really is a monster!

_Hold on, (y/n)_ ,  some small part of my consciousness told me.  _ You don’t know the whole story. Maybe he had a good reason to do so.  _ But even that sounded ridiculous to me.

But when I looked at Kovit I saw the regret in his eyes. That’s when I think I understood why. “I’m guessing she was a zannie too?”

“When my sister found out,” Kovit continued. “She was furious. I remembered when she busted open the door to my room. She screamed at me, saying that they weren’t just there for mom and they were coming after me, too. She led me downstairs and hid me under the floorboards. I remembered her expression. She looked...scared. For me. And I was scared for her. That’s when INHUP broke into the room and took her..”

“That’s horrible,” I gasped. “It must’ve been terrifying for you two.”

Kovit looked distant. “Yes. It was. But what scared me the most was what would happen to my sister. She’s not a zannie like me and my mom.”

“Oh,” I said. “It must be genetic like kitsune. The kitsune gene is recessive, so there’s always a chance that someone in the family won’t get it.”

“Exactly like that,” Kovit nodded. “My sister and father are both normal humans.” Kovit snickered. “It made family dinners pretty awkward, as you can imagine.”

Honestly, I couldn’t. Since kitsune are critically endangered, a lot of us don’t have big families. My father and mother are both kitsune so it increased the likelihood of their offspring also carrying the gene, but I couldn’t imagine having parents of different breeds. How does that even happen? Did his father know? And if he did, was he really okay with marrying an unnatural? And a zannie, at that? But there was a bigger question that was bothering me. “Why did you turn your mother in?”

Kovit’s eyes flashed as he stared into mine. I stared back with an even expression. He smirked. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Kovit’s eyes glimmered in amusement. “You really want to know? Why are you so curious about me, anyway?”

“Why are you agreeing to tell me about yourself?” I countered.

Kovit examined me curiously with that smile on his face and I couldn’t help but to shiver underneath his stare. “Fair enough,” he chuckled. “Alright, I’ll tell you then-“

But he didn’t get to finish when I was suddenly jerked out of my sleep. I glared. Damn it, why now?! But then I realized a sound had startled me out of my sleep. I heard Nita scream, “MIRELLA!”

Did she say ‘Mirella’? I scrambled up and looked out the glass. Sure enough, Mirella was being dragged back to her cell by Jorge and Lorenzo with Reyes striding next to them. I was relieved to see her alive, but my stomach dropped when I saw her face. She looked exhausted and depressed, but what startled me was the bandage that was leaking with blood over her right eye. I then remembered how Amazon pink dolphins’ eyes were said to make the consumer of the organ have the ability to make a person fall in love with them. I gritted my teeth. Damn, that Boulder! I’d kill the guy the second I had the chance!

I heard Kovit walk in after them before he came into my view. “Ah, Kovit. There you are,” Reyes said, looking at him up and down. “Just woke up, I see,” she tsked. “You’ve been sleeping in a lot the past couple of days. Look alive more, would you?”

Kovit did indeed look tired, but he refused to look at me, which upset me. He had no problem looking at me before. Was it because of what we were talking about in his dream? And what was he going to say before I woke up? I’d have to try and walk in his dream again, but what would happen to him if Reyes kept noticing him slacking?

“Anyway, Kovit, I have a treat for you.” She trailed off when she looked at Nita. “I see her fingers are still attached.”

“She opted for tortured,” Kovit shrugged. I still remembered how Nita and I thought he would cut off her fingers, but he had just left her alone.

Reyes eyed him skeptically. “You don’t look like you ate much.”

“I ate when you left. That was hours ago.” I wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. “However,” he glanced between me and Nita. “If you want me to eat more, I’d be delighted to oblige.”

My eyes widened. I could understand him wanting to hurt Nita in front of Reyes, but I didn’t understand why he looked at me. I wasn’t the one who was able to turn my pain receptors off and heal quickly, so why try to hurt me in front of Reyes? Was he just lying about his whole past and made a story to appease me? No, that wasn’t it. I could tell he was telling the truth then. But why hurt me when he has nothing to gain from it?

“Good,” Reyes smiled in satisfaction. “I was hoping you’d say that. After this batchof customers, you’ll have quite a present indeed.”

What the fuck?! Customers already?

“Customers?” Kovit’s confusion voiced mine. “Now?”

“Precisely,” she turned around and began to trek down the hall. “Won’t you be a gentleman and join me?”

Kovit exchanged glances with me. “Kovit...” I murmured. I needed answers from him. I still had so many questions from last night.

Kovit smiled and walked closer to my cage. “Thanks for your company last night, but it sounds like my dinner awaits.”

I swallowed hard as Kovit skipped gleefully down the hall. He was unbelievable.

“Mirella...” Nita called out softly. “Are you okay?”

“What kind of stupid question is that?” She spat.

I couldn’t see her as she talked, but seeing her as she was first dragged into her cell hurt me enough. Her eye was bleeding, which meant that her eye was only recently stabbed out. I couldn’t even imagine what kind of other torture she endured. Thinking about it only made me ache for her and fill me with sheer rage towards Boulder. “I’ll fucking kill him,” I growled.

“You and me both,” Mirella’s voice was laced with venom.

Just then, the door to the prison opened and more footsteps echoed toward the hall; Reyes, Kovit, and two older men and a young woman.

“How was your flight?” Reyes’ voice sounded louder as she got closer to our cells.

“16 heures de Lyon et deux bébés qui crient,” a response came from one of the guys. “It was fine.” They came into view and I saw an older man with a mustache dressed in a polo shirt and hat, a woman dressed in all black with a veil over her face, and a well-dressed man with white streaks in his hair.

“Hey, nice hair,” Kovit complimented the man.

The man didn’t look back at him and only hissed, making Kovit look super uncomfortable. 

_A vampire_ ,  I thought.  I’ve never seen one up close before.

The woman pointed at Nita. “Is this it? The newest product.”

I could see the panic in Nita’s body language, but as usual her eyes looked cold and fearless. 

“Kovit,” Reyes nodded to the boy. “A demonstration.” She opened up the cage and Kovit stepped inside with his switchblade ready in hand.

I felt bad, but Nita looked past Kovit and everyone else and started me in the eye, shaking her head.  _Don’t_ ,  her eyes seemed to say. She could tell I wanted to intervene, but me doing so would only make things worse. It was easier to just let Reyes have her way.

In a flash, Kovit sliced off a piece of Nita’s flesh on her arm and was ordered to show the customers her ability. Nita frowned while looking into Reyes’ eyes, letting the wound on her arm close up quickly. I could see how exhausted she looked and wondered how using her abilities to keep her pain receptors off and heal at the same time affected her.

“Incredible!” The woman gasped.

“I hadn’t quite believed...” Mustache breathed. “You know how good video editing can be these days.”

“It’s no trouble,” Reyes said. “Perhaps we can retire to my office and discuss a price-“

Reyes was quickly cut off by the vampire. “What’s your name?” He leaned close to Nita’s cell.

I was shocked. You had to be pretty ballsy to interrupt Reyes while she was talking.

“Nita.” Even Nita seemed baffled that the man asked her such a thing.

“Nita...” the vampire repeated. I couldn’t even see his face and the man was giving me chills. “Have you ever met anyone with the same ability as you? A friend? A relative...”

“Excuse me,” Reyes snapped. “If you wish to question the subject, you’ll have to purchase her first.”

The vampire turned around to face Reyes and that’s when I actually got a good look at his face. He had cold grey eyes that could just bore into your soul and some bits of facial hair on his chin. The streaks in his hair only completed the ominous vampire look. “How much?”

“We can negotiate.”

The vampire turned back to face Nita. “I would like to know, however, have you met a woman named Monica? Though she may have called herself something else. White, about 5’7, black hair with red streaks...”

I saw recognition flash across Nita’s face at the description. I frowned. What the hell kind of interrogation was going on here?

“You see, this Monica...she has the same kind of ability as you.” He leaned closer to her cell. “Judging by your expression, I’d say the name Monica rings a bell.”

“I told you,” Reyes said again. “If you wish to speak with the merchandise you’ll have to-“

The vampire held a finger up at her to get her to stop talking and if not for the grim situation or the possibility of Reyes having my tongue cut off, I would have laughed. 

“Tell me,” he continued. “What do you know about Monica’s current whereabouts?”

I frowned. Something weird was going on. I’ve never seen a customer interrogate a prisoner about a topic that seemed clearly irrelevant to any kind of purchase.

“I’m afraid you’ve been warned.” At the sound of Reyes’ voice the vampire turned around and I didn’t notice it before, but she had summoned her guard dogs. 

Jorge tried to anticipate him, but the vampire was quick. He dodged Jorge with ease, moving so fluid and graceful in the blink of an eye.

I saw Lorenzo grab for a flashlight at his side, then he quickly shined it at the vampire’s face. The vampire screamed and hissed as the bright light enveloped his face and I noticed Kovit trembling in pleasure from his pain.

“I had them procure special UV lights,” Reyes explained. “In case of we reached any sort of...misunderstanding.”

I actually thought it was pretty horrific that Reyes had implemented such a thing to use against her customers, but then again, it didn’t really surprise me that she did. 

Lorenzo lowered the light and the vampire glared at her, his own blood smeared on his face.

“Now then,” Reyes smiled. “Shall we discuss purchasing options?”

The vampire glowered at her and in that moment I swear it looked like he would kill her. But then, he wiped the blood off his face and composed himself. “Of course, purchase options would be satisfactory.” He followed Reyes out of the room with one last look at Nita.

As they walked out of the room, Jorge walked over to Mirella’s cell and opened her door. “Wait, what are you doing?” I cried.

“She caused some trouble before,” I heard Lorenzo say as he retrieved Mirella out of her cell. “We even had to put her under to remove her eye.”

“Where are you taking her?!” I demanded, pounding on the glass.

Lorenzo gave me a look as if he couldn’t be bothered. “The workroom.”

Oh, no. My heart sank. Damn it, of course they would bring her there. That’s when Reyes’ words to Kovit started making sense to me. My eyes widened. “Shit. No! Anything but him, please! She can’t-“ I couldn’t bring myself to finish my sentence in front of Mirella.  _ She has no way of alleviating her experience in there. _ But it was too late to help her as they already dragged her away.

Nita touched the glass, her expression anxious. “What will her punishment be?”

I narrowed my eyes, the thought making me sick. “Kovit.”


	5. Chapter 5

The next couple of hours or so were absolute torture. Not just for Mirella, but for me as well. It was like once she started screaming she couldn’t stop. Her blood-curdling screams rang out into the hallways for what seemed like forever, her begging and sobs mixed into her shrieks. The sounds made my stomach recoil as I felt like vomiting from the screaming alone.

I curled myself in the corner of my cell, squeezing my eyes shut and plugging my ears, but it didn’t so much to block out her piercing screams and begging. What made her torturing even worse was that I could imagine Kovit slicing, cutting, and stabbing her in every way possible and taking delight in every second of it. I still couldn’t believe that the gentle and teasing man who opened up to me in his dreams was the same brutal unnatural who was in there torturing my friend.

The duality of his character was difficult for me to comprehend. I couldn’t quite understand how he could be so kind and sparing one minute, and then immediately shift back to a blood-thirty sadist the next.

It wasn’t like with some kitsune I’ve heard of, the ones who liked to prey on humans. They would use their looks to their advantage to seem seem so charming and innocent one second and once they had them lulled into a false sense of security they would attack their victims. No, Kovit wasn’t like that. I believed both sides of him were real. I’ve seen Kovit have real emotions. He had humane characteristics, but that didn’t take away the fact he’s also a zannie, one of the most diabolical unnaturals to exists.

I wished there was something I could’ve done for Mirella. Out of the three of us here, she was the one who had the worse experience with torture. Nita could turn off her senses stimuli to not feel pain and heal herself and I could feel the pleasure of a zannie and absorb some of their energy as long as I was touching them as they inflicted pain. But Mirella...I figured pink dolphins didn’t have an ability to alleviate pain like this. 

_Don’t think about it, (y/n)_ ,  I told myself.  _ There’s nothing you can do and thinking about it will only be a waste of time and emotions.  _

But then I thought about how I sacrificed my own flesh and blood for Nita. I’m still not sure why I had wanted to protect her. Maybe I didn’t want to fail to save someone like how I failed my brother and parents. But did it matter anyway? We were all going to be sold piece by piece in here if not whole. And since when did I start considering my inmates as friends? That’s when I realized I didn’t want to die here. I wanted to live and somehow make it out with Nita and Mirella. But sadly, the reality was that that could never happen. If only I wasn’t so useless, then I could use my powers to escape somehow, but there were no blind spots for me to escape. The only thing I could hold on to was that small fantasy of me, Nita, and Mirella out of the prison and somewhere far away from the death market to make a new life.

I laid on the cold stone floor of my cell, looking up at the blank granite ceiling. Mirella’s nightmarish screams were still ringing out into the hall and I continued keeping my ears plugged. I wondered where my brother was and if he was going through something similar, or if he was already dead. I shivered as tears welled in my eyes as I thought about it. If only I could have protected him. He never hurt a soul in his life. No one in my family had. It was unfair how life could be so cruel to the innocent. 

_It’s not your fault, (y/n)_ ,  I reassured myself.  _ Anyone in your position would have done the same. You only tried to do something good.  _

I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard Nita punch the glass of her cell. I saw that her cell was a mess with things thrown around her room. What the hell happened in there while I was spacing out? “Nita?”

Nita ignored me and instead stared at her hands. I wondered if she was still upset about Mirella. The sound of a door opening made my ears perk up and I heard Kovit and Mirella’s footsteps. My back straightened, anticipating seeing those two.

Kovit dragged Mirella down the hall, looking refreshed and in a good mood as ever. Mirella on the other hand looked like she’d been through hell. She look distant and broken with blood on her shirt, but for all that screaming there were surprisingly not that many visible wounds on her. I watched as Kovit put Mirella back in her cell as I clenched and unclenched my fists.

** “Kovit.” **

Nita and I stared at each other in surprise at both of us calling out to him. Kovit looked back and forth between us with a similar expression. Finally, Kovit turned to me. “Yes, (y/n)?” He looked at me with his head tilted to the side and a smirk plastered on his face. 

I swallowed. “I need to talk to you tonight.”

Kovit stepped closer to my cell so his shoes were nearly touching the glass. “I suppose you, ah, wanna finish our talk from earlier?”

I nodded silently.

Kovit chuckled. “I suppose I won’t be able to get you out of my head. Literally. Do what you want, I guess. I don’t think I’m able to stop you, anyway.” He turned around with one last smirk at me and checked on Nita. “What do you need?”

Nita stared at me for a hard minute with a large frown on her face. It was almost like she was trying to burn a hole in my face. What the hell was her deal? Her eyes focused back on Kovit. “Can I have some water?”

Kovit studied her for a minute before turning on his heel. “Sure.” When he left the room Nita stared at me once more before rummaging around her cell and stuffing pieces of plastic into her feeder. Where the hell did she get that and what was she doing? Then I remembered the empty water bottles from the first day she got here. But what was she hoping to accomplish by trying to jam the feeder? Whatever. If she’s trying to come up with some escape plan, it wasn’t going to work. This place is practically foolproof. I gave up trying to escape a long time ago.

Kovit came back with a water bottle and bent down to put it through the feeder, but as Nita and I expected, it wouldn’t budge. Kovit tried pulling it open a few more times before standing up and kicking the glass in frustration. Nita bent down to “examine” the feeder. “I think it’s broken.”

Kovit sighed. “We’ll have to move you to a different cell while we repair it.”

I saw real panic in Nita’s eyes. Heh, what could I say? I already knew any attempted escape wouldn’t work.

“Wait. Kovit! My water...”

Kovit turned around to look at her and then the water bottle in his hand.

“Come on, Kovit...” Nita persisted. “You wouldn’t deny me water, would you?”

I saw Kovit consider the thought carefully. That’s when I realized what Nita was trying to do. She was trying to use him to escape. If Kovit opened her cell to give her the water, and knowing him, he would, Nita would use the opportunity to escape. But even if she somehow managed to get past Kovit, she didn’t know the ins and outs of the death market. I highly doubted she would be able to pull her plan off.

Finally, Kovit sighed. “Fine. Back of the cage. Hands where I can see them.”

Nita held both her hands up and walked towards the back of her cell. Kovit opened her cage and tossed the bottle to her. “Here.”

In an instant, Nita kicked up the blanket that was near her feet and caught it in her hands. She charged at Kovit, smothering him with the blanket and throwing him down on the floor. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw Nita instantly land a punch at Kovit’s face as he struggled to get his switchblade to make contact with her. It all happened so fast and I couldn’t believe she actually knocked him out cold with another strike to his face.

I heard tapping on glass next to me. “Um, Nita,” I heard Mirella say. She was so quiet for a long time I had almost forgotten she was there. “Get us out of here.”

Nita looked over at her. “Right.” She closed her cell leaving Kovit’s body in there and then opened up Mirella’s. Nita walked to my cell next and hesitated. I blinked at her. Was she really considering leaving me here?

Mirella frowned at Nita. “What are you waiting for? Someone could show up any minute.”

Nita and I stared at each other for a few seconds before Nita nodded. “Of course.” She opened my cell and I stepped out. It felt nice to finally have been out, but my jubilation was short-lived. This was only the first step to freedom. The real challenge was escaping the island.

Mirella looked at Kovit’s body locked in Nita’s cell. “Is he dead?”

Kovit had blood pooling around his head, but I could hear his steady breathing and heartbeat. “He’s alive.”

Nita frowned. “You seem to care about him a lot.” I realized too late that my voice sounded relieved. She was right. Why did I seem to care? Did I pity him because of his rough childhood? Kovit has endlessly tortured me and everyone else that came through this prison and for some reason he had turned his own mother in to INHUP. But I remembered the way how he talked about his sister and how he talked to me in his dreams. Even in the waking world, he had shown a considerable amount of kindness towards Nita and me lately. 

“I...“ I tried desperately grabbing for something to say, but Mirella cut me off.

“It  _ is  _ good he is alive,” she said, glaring at his body. “I want Reyes to find him.”

I swallowed. Kovit really fucked up his job by letting all of Reyes’ stocks escape. She was surely going to kill him when she finds out.

“However she kills him will be worse than what we could do,” she spat.

I almost felt bad. I don’t think Kovit deserved to be killed because he was attacked by one of us and suddenly we all escaped. But I had to ignore that feeling. This was our chance at freedom and I’m not about to screw it up just because I felt sorry for the fate of someone who made my life a living hell these past two weeks.

“Come on,” Nita said. “We have to go.”

We walked down the hall and I noticed Mirella was limping. I immediately looped her arm around my shoulder and held her waist.

“I’m fine,” Mirella winced, trying to push me off.

“We’ll move a lot faster like this,” I pointed out.

Mirella sighed. “Fine. Just don’t pull me too hard.”

Nita nodded at the three doors on each side of the hall. “Tell me what’s behind those doors.”

“The door at the end of the hall, I don’t know,” Mirella said. “The one on the left...there’s nothing helpful in there.” I realized that that must’ve been the workroom where Mirella was tortured. I’ve only seen this hall once since I was considered to be too dangerous to be let out of my cell with my abilities. It didn’t matter if I was too weak to even use my abilities to their full extent. They didn’t know enough about my powers and didn’t want to risk one of the few kitsune left on the planet escaping from their grasps.

“And the door closest to us,” Mirella nodded to the big door on the right. “Escape.”

Nita carefully examined each door before walking straight towards the one on at the end of the hall.

“Nita, where are you going?” I whisper-shouted. I helped Mirella as we followed Nita down the hall. What does she expect to find in one of these rooms?

Nita opened the door and the first things we saw were a desk and chair with a monitor mounted up on the wall and clothes hanging up on a clothesline. There was no one else in the room.

Nita sighed as we all stepped in after her. “How many other rooms are in the building?”

“None that I’m aware of,” Mirella replied.

“Then where do Reyes and the guards stay?”

Mirella and I both gave her clueless shrugs. I looked around the room and noticed the monitor displaying the prison’s security feed. I saw Kovit still unconscious on the floor of Nita’s cell on one of the cams. The only other two cams recording showed empty cells and other cams were off. I frowned. I figured with the security precautions of this prison there would be more cameras on.

As I let Mirella lean on the wall to change I noticed a mattress on the floor with rumpled blankets on top. “I wonder if Kovit stays here?”

Nita glared at me. “Does it matter?”

What the fuck was her problem? She’s been acting so irate with me since we called out for Kovit at the same time. “It does,” I responded cooly. “In case he keeps his money around here.”

Nita stared at me as if she was trying to see if I could be trusted or not. I didn’t like that look at all. “Good point,” she huffed finally. She turned to Mirella. “See if you can find something to help you walk.”

“Because the zannie keeps a pair of crutches lying around,” she said sarcastically as she zipped up a pair of pants.

My eyes landed to a contraption on the desk. “Holy shit, look at this dinosaur-age phone.” I picked up the flip phone and opened it. “Too bad we can’t call INHUP. I highly doubt there’s power on the island.”

“At lest not until we’re over the border,” Mirella called over her shoulder.

Nita looked over. “Let’s take it anyway. We might need it later.”

“I couldn’t find any money,” Mirella said.

Nita sighed. “Very well. We’ll figure it out.”

I smiled. “Are you guys ready? We can finally escape hell.”

Mirella smiled at me. “I can only imagine it gets better from here.”

It felt so surreal that we were finally leaving, it felt like a dream. And yet, here we were, about to step into the death market. To freedom.


	6. Chapter 6

The sunlight poured into the room as soon as Nita opened the door, blinding me. How long has it been since I’d seen real sunlight? And that humidity. The air was so much thicker and humid out there. I followed Nita out the door and inhaled the fresh air, stretching my arms and smiling. I suddenly hissed in pain as the wound on my shoulder Kovit left yesterday rubbed against the fabric of my t-shirt. It was one of the things about this place that would stay with me forever. But right now I was more focused on the bright lush jungle and the sense of freedom I felt. I couldn’t help but to laugh.

Some monkeys that scurried by had startled Nita and I heard Mirella’s faint chuckle behind me as she closed the door. God, freedom at last. My wildest fantasies were actually coming true.

I looked around the jungle and recognized the area from Kovit’s dream. “I’m sure we can find a boat at the pier.” I pointed North. “I’m pretty sure the pier is this way.”

Mirella cocked her head. “How are you sure? You haven’t been there since you arrived at the prison.”

“Good memory,” I lied. “Come on.”

“Wait,” Nita stopped me. I turned around and expected her to fight me for whatever reason, but she looked down at her feet instead. “We need shoes.”

“I’m not going back in there,” Mirella scoffed.

“Me neither,” I agreed.

Nita sighed. “You mentioned the pier, but is there anyway out of the jungle?”

I crossed my arms and grinned at her. “Unless you brought a machete or something to hack our way through and want to crawl through that place full of spiders and whatever else, the pier is our best bet.” I pricked up my ears and located the pier where I met with Kovit in his dream. Unlike his dream, though, there were a lot more sounds with people and machinery. I finally picked up the sound of water and people walking on a dock. The problem was that the market was right in between us and where we needed to be. “To get to the pier we have to go through the market.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Mirella said. “All we have to do is not act...”

“Unnatural?” Nita finished.

Mirella smiled. “Right.”

I was worried about going through the market considering how dirty and tattered we looked, but we made our way to there and I don’t even know the last time I’d been surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces that weren’t making a spectacle of me. And in all honesty, despite being in the death market, the Amazon looked gorgeous. The narrow streets were lined with Spanish colonial buildings and colorful tarps and tents were set up all around. If not for the gruesome and disturbing things being sold here, this would make a lovely tourist spot. I had never been outside of Japan so I was very intrigued with all the sights and smells around me. But as beautiful as this place was, it was tainted by the darkness of this market. People were selling things from drugs to animals dead and alive and I know that body parts and people were also sold here. A cold shiver went up my spine as I remembered how disgusting and heinous this place was. I couldn’t wait to leave.

I looked behind me to see how Mirella and Nita were doing and Nita was close behind me falling right into step despite trying to hide her limp. Nita on the other hand had seem distracted by some father and son at the market. As much as I could understand her disgust, we had to keep moving. “Nita,” I called.

With Nita’s attention back on track, we finally found the pier. We hid behind a tree, looking down at the docks. It wasn’t too crowded and there were a few boats on hand. “Well, we made it to the pier,” I smiled. “Now all we need to do is steal a boat.

Nita whipped around and her eyes shot daggers at me. “What do you mean ‘steal a boat?’”

I frowned. “Was it not clear?”

“No, pretty self-explanatory,” Mirella nodded.

“Did you miss the guards with machine guns?” Nita hissed.

I smirked. “Nita, did you forget you have a kitsune on your side? I could easily use my powers to guarantee us one.”

Nita reluctantly sighed. “Alright, fine. So how far is Brazil anyway? Can we swim?”

“Swimming...” Mirella mused. “It would take us days. Not to mention the snakes lurking in the water. And we already discoursed why we can’t go through the jungle. I agree with (y/n). Stealing a boat is the only way.”

“We’ll need a distraction, then.” Nita turned to me. “Can you create an illusion of some sort? Like a wild rampaging animal?”

I frowned in thought. “Depends how big the animal is. Best I can do is probably a snake. But since I’ve been malnourished in that prison, I’m not sure how long the illusion will last. I could probably be strong enough to keep it up for a minute or so.”

“I’ll take it,” Nita said. She nodded to Mirella. “Pick one of the boats closer to us. Wait here until you have the opportunity.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Mirella saluted.

“Wait, you’re not going with her?” I asked.

Nita glared at me. “No. I don’t trust you by yourself so I’m going with you.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been getting that sort of vibe from you lately.” I walked down closer to a stand near the pier. “Can I ask why?”

“‘Why?’” Nita repeated. “Oh, well let’s see...what’s up with you and Kovit? You guys are often talking like there’s some sort of secret between you. You do realize he is not on our side?”

I shrugged. “I get bored so I talk to him in his dreams. There’s nothing harmful about it.”

Nita’s eyes widened in surprise. “You talk...? Oh wait, you mentioned you could do that. And no wonder Kovit has been looking super tired lately. What do you guys even talk about? Unless...” She stopped in her tracks. “Unless you and Kovit were conspiring with each other. Maybe you wanted us to escape so you could capture Mirella and I and you and Kovit could escape this island together.”

I stopped walking and turned around to roll my eyes at her. “Nita, are you even listening to how ridiculous you sound right now? That makes no sense. I’ve already made it this far with you guys. Besides, why would I want to escape with Kovit?”

Nita crossed her arms and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a lovers’ plan or something?”

My eyes snapped at her and I tried not my best to lose it. “Excuse me?!” I hissed. “Kovit and I? Lovers? Don’t make me gag. I don’t like him in the slightest.” I sighed, trying to control my temper. “Listen, I accidentally stumbled into Kovit’s dream one night and we talked. That’s it. I found myself interested about what he was doing here so I tried to ask, but I never got to know. That’s what we were talking about in front of you. I’m sorry if there was any misunderstanding.”

Nita sighed and looked away from me. “Whatever. Let’s just get off this island.” We got to a good distance between us and the stand and I crouched down. It’s been months since I conjured up an illusion, but I was sure I could create a perfect one. I held my right hand out in a closed fist and closed my eyes, breathing slowly. I pictured a long bodied reptile with black and tan scales with striking amber eyes and sharp fangs. I concentrated hard on the image and soon I felt something in my hand. I set my hand close to the ground and opened my palm. As I opened my eyes, I saw a pit viper slithering out from beneath my hand. I heard Nita catch her breath behind me. “It won’t hurt anyone,” I reassured her. “It’s not actually real and I control it with my mind.”

I stared at the snake and mentally guided it to the merchant’s stand. It slithered along the sand I noticed the woman who was in front of the stand yelling at the merchant. I willed the snake to flick its tongue to get her attention. And just like that, she looked down at it and screamed. “AAAAAHHHHHHH VIPER!!!” That caught the attention of a few onlookers and the merchant and sent everyone into a panic.

The lady had carelessly knocked over the stand and sent the merchant’s goods crashing to the ground and the merchant was torn between yelling at her and escaping from the snake. Many onlookers had fled the scene and even one or two of the guards from the pier came over. One of the guards told everyone to clear the way as he got ready to shoot. I frowned, trying to figure out how to get the snake away. I wondered if I could get it to bury itself in the sand. Without hesitating, I willed the snake to maneuver behind the guard. The problem with creating live illusions was that they were harder to animate and I could feel myself getting exhausted. The guard quickly spun around and tried to shoot at the snake, but I was quicker. I managed to get the snake to dodge the rain of bullets, but I was beginning to feel woozy. “Shit,” my eyelids started to feel heavy. “I don’t think I can...” I suddenly lost sense of the world around me and collapsed.

“(Y/n)!” I could barely see Nita as she hovered over me as everything was so blurry. Even her voice sounded as if she was on the other side of a waterfall. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision.

“I’m fine,” I rasped. “I just need to rest for a bit.” I groaned as Nita helped me sit up. I could hear the commotion near the stand as people wondered where the snake went. Since I was too weak and broke my concentration, the illusion had dissolved on its own.

“Oh, shit,” I heard Nita swear. “Is that Boulder?”

I looked in the direction Nita was staring and saw the broad blond man. I suddenly felt anger rising up in me. “It sure the hell is. But wait...” I saw a pink haired girl walking towards his direction. “That’s Mirella!” I groaned as my head throbbed from raising my voice. “Dammit, my distraction didn’t do jackshit. There’s still a few people on the dock.”

“No, you did amazing,” Nita reassured me. “Look, you cleared more than half the pier. Who knows? Maybe he won’t notice her?”

But as soon as she said that Boulder had turned around and smirked when he noticed her. He reached for something in his back pocket as he approached her.

“MIRELLA!” Nita screamed. I watched as Boulder pulled out a gun and said something to her. Mirella turned around and the instant he did he shot her right in the abdomen 

“No!!” I choked out a sob. Mirella crumpled to the floor and she and Boulder stared at each other before Boulder turned around with a satisfied sneer on his face, pocketing his gun. Mirealla suddenly leaned over and fell into the water.

“NO!!!” I sobbed. Damn it!! I should’ve created a bigger distraction. If I had, Boulder wouldn’t have killed her and we all would have been home free. That was my fucking friend and she was killed just in front of me. I was beginning to see a pattern I didn’t like. Mirella was too kind and caring. She was the first person who ever spoke to me since I got here and within our time in the prison we had grown so close despite never meeting face to face. And now she was fucking gone. That bastard just murdered her and what pissed me off even more was that no one around even batted an eye. I grit my teeth. I swore I was going to kill that son of a bitch before I left this island.

Nita suddenly pulled my arm. “(Y/n), we gotta go, they’re coming this way.”

I winced as she was pulling the arm with my injured shoulder, but I stumbled to my feet and Nita helped me duck behind a tarp. We waited patiently until they went away and I hunched over, still exhausted from exerting my powers. “What are we doing?!” I hissed. “We need to fucking kill them!”

Nita gripped my shoulders tightly. “Calm down. We need to think rationally now. If we even go near them, they’ll kill us on sight. And after using your powers to create that illusion, would you still be strong enough to take them?”

She was making a lot of sense and was absolutely right about me being too weak to use my powers again, but I needed justice to be brought down. “How are you not upset? He just killed Mirella and- .” I couldn’t stop trembling so I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Mirella used that opportunity to speak. “You don’t think I’m angry?” I looked into her brown eyes and saw hurt and rage reflected in them. “Mirella was my friend, too. She didn’t deserve to die. But remember why we’re here. We need to escape so now is the time to be thinking clearly without making rash decisions that might get us killed. And I’m so sorry, (y/n). I wasn’t as close to Mirella as you were, but I can still feel your pain.” She clasped my unscathed hand into hers. “But right now we need to keep moving. Can you do that for me?”

I sniffed and nodded. She was right. There were more important things ahead.

“Good,” Mirella said. “Now let’s find another way out of here.” We continued walking through the death market, seeing grisly products and animals and even walking past services provided by unnaturals such as liposuction and a brothel. 

Nita glanced at me. “Are those women kitsune?”

I frowned at the skimpy-dressed and flirtatious women. I could see where Nita came from since these women had animal ears and a tail, but kitsune donned no such thing. “No. They’re just vixen. They’re kinda like distant relatives of kitsune. They just lack all the power kitsune have. Let’s keep walking.”

We continued passing the horrors and disturbances of the death market until some guy bumped into Nita. “Hey- “ she glared, but froze. I noticed she was looking at the man’s shirt. I didn’t see what was so special about it. It just had the name of some college on the back.

“Nita?” I called. “You okay?”

Nita glanced back at me and then shook her head. “I’m fine. Anyway, we need money if we want to find safe passage. I highly doubt pickpocketing would be easy unless you know how to.”

“Of course not,” I snorted. “But with my looks and charms, I could probably flirt my way into someone’s wallet. I never tried doing that before, but it might be worth a shot.”

“Hmm,” Nita considered it. “I don’t know about flirting with anyone here. Sounds kinda dangerous.”

With us fresh out of ideas, we continued walking trying to find another way out. That’s when Nita stopped in her tracks. “I think I have an idea.”

I turned around to look at her. “What is it?”

“You’re not going to like it,” she winced.

I rolled my eyes. “Nita, I’m willing to take any chance of escape from this place. Now what is your idea?”

Nita stared me in the eye. “We have to go back. To the prison.”

I gawked at her. “You’re not serious, are you?”

Nita held her stony gaze at me.

“We just spent all this time trying to leave that place and now you want to go back?!” I cried in disbelief.

“I don’t want to go back there as much as you don’t. But I do have a plan, just trust me on this.”

I sighed. I think Nita is out of her mind, but she’s usually pretty levelheaded and logical. And anyway, we’re running out of options. I reluctantly sighed. “Lead the way, I guess.”


	7. Chapter 7

I sighed as I leaned against the prison wall. “Nita, it’s been fifteen minutes. No one has come by. So do you mind telling me what your plan is?”

Nita looked around and then at the door. “Come on,” she pulled on my arm as she led me inside the building. I groaned. How could she not trust me when she’s the one not telling me anything? But I had no choice but to trust her if it meant getting off this island.

I closed the door behind us as Nita looked around the hall. “You know, what if it’s a trap?” I whispered. “Reyes could still be around here and she just left the door open to lure us in.”

“I know,” Nita whispered back as she walked into the workroom. I groaned as I stayed close to her, keeping watch. I didn’t like this plan but I didn’t have a better idea either. I’ll just make sure we get whatever the we needed and the get the hell out of here safely.

Nita walked out of the room with a pair of forceps. “This was all I could find. Should I check the other room to see if I can find something else?”

“Well, if you are, you better do it now. Reyes probably could have heard you and the last thing we need is a run-in with her.”

Nita nodded and walked into Kovit’s room as I crossed my arms and continued keeping watch. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I could do to fight someone off even if I ran into someone. I had just exhausted all my power with that illusion. I doubted I could pull something like that off again until I ate properly. And just like that, I was useless again. It seemed like that was the only thing I was good at. I couldn’t even help my own family and Mirella and now they were all dead because of me. I felt my eyes begin to water, but just then Nita poked her head through the door. “Hey can I- you okay?”

I whipped around and wiped my eyes. “Yeah. Fine. What’s up?”

“Um, I was wondering if I could borrow the phone? I was hoping I could get in contact with some people.”

“Oh,” I suddenly remembered the old phone I snatched from Kovit’s desk and pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to Nita. “Sure.”

Nita took the cell phone and studied me carefully as if she was trying to find something else to say. “Why don’t you come into the room with me? You can hide yourself better and still listen for anyone coming.”

I nodded and wordlessly followed her into the room. I glanced up at the monitor and saw Kovit in one of the cams. He was lying in Nita’s cell with his arms raised to the ceiling in boredom. Thank god he was okay.

What the hell are you thinking, (y/n),  I snapped at myself.  Why do you care whether he is okay or not?! He’s a monster and got what he deserved. Stop getting all soft for him because you feel sorry about his past.

I saw Nita flip open the phone and started dialing a number.

“Who are you calling?” I asked.

“My mother,” she responded gruffly.

I remembered something about how Nita said her mother tortured unnaturals and let Nita dissect the bodies later. “Didn’t you say your mother was the one that sent you here? I hope you aren’t expecting her to come and get us.”

“I’m not,” was all she said as she waited for the receiver to answer. After a few seconds, someone must have picked up. “Mom- !” Nita gasped, but her face suddenly dropped and she slowly hung up. 

“Guess she didn’t pick up?” I guessed.

“I’m going to try and call my dad,” Nita said. “I doubt his phone has international calling but it’s worth a try.” She punched in another number and held the phone to her ear, waiting for an answer. I saw Nita’s eyes brighten, but then confusion swept over her face. “Who- who is this?”

Horror mixed in with Nita’s expression. She looked at me and I gazed back at her with a questioning frown. Nita’s eyes jerked around as she started thinking and then she furrowed her brows. “Oh, sorry, wrong number,” she quickly said and hung up.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Nita said. “Do you mind if I hold on to the phone?”

I shrugged. “Sure. I don’t have any use for it anyway.” My attention flicked to the monitor when I saw a flash of movement on the screen. Kovit was staring up at the camera and waving his arms. “Oh, look,” I said flatly. “He must have heard us talking.”

Nita looked at the screen and scowled. “So what? We should just leave him here.”

I frowned. “Yeah. But Kovit knows this place pretty well. He might be a key factor into getting us out of here.”

“And I suppose you just think he’s going to tell you because you’re friends?”

“We’re not friends,” I glowered. “But I think getting information out of him should be easy. And if not then we could just leave. Besides, this could buy us some time.”

Nita hesitated. “Fine,” she sighed. “But we’re not staying long. Do you hear anyone coming?”

I pricked my ears up and listened carefully. There were no footsteps and the only shuffling I heard came from Kovit. “We’re clear.”

Nita and I walked down the hall and Kovit perked up when he saw us. “Hey,” he called.

Nita pressed herself behind the entrance against the wall. “She won’t see me from this angle, won’t she?”

I considered it. “No. And even if she does come back we’ve got her outnumbered. We’d only be screwed if her guard dogs showed up.”

“Uhhh, guys?” Kovit called out again.

Nita looked over at me. “Well, this was your idea.”

I nodded and walked over to Kovit’s cell with Nita following after me. I crossed my arms and looked him in the eye. “Yes, Kovit?”

Kovit looked between Nita and me and grinned. “Are you two staying the night?” His grinned creeped me out and I wondered what was going through his mind. No, I decided. He’s not trying to be creepy. He’s just desperate for company. And possibly desperate to get out. He glanced around. “So where’s the dolphin wannabe?”

I grit my teeth and clenched my fists. The way how he wouldn’t even address her by her name pissed me off further. I could still remember the surprise on her face as the bullet entered her. Neither Nita nor I responded to him.

Kovit shifted nervously and scratched his face at the awkward tension. Nita tugged on the back of my shirt. “This was a waste of time. Let’s just go.”

“Wait!” Kovit exclaimed. “Um, if it’s not too much trouble...” he suddenly turned bashful. “Could you please feed me?”

I gaped at him. Feed? Right here?

“You don’t need to hurt yourself,” Kovit said quickly, guessing my thoughts. “Regular food will do just fine. Oh, and, um, water too. If you don’t mind.”

I considered it. Kovit was decent enough to feed us and provide us with essentials while we were in the prison. It just felt weird to have our roles switched for a change. I turned to Nita and shrugged. “Guess we’ll be back then.”

Nita and I turned around and walked out of the hall. “There’s bread in the fridge from across my bed!” Kovit called after us.

We stopped at the intersection and Nita nodded to the workroom. “You go and get the food. I’ll see if I can find a better weapon.”

I shrugged. “Sure.” I still wasn’t sure what Nita was planning and why she needed a weapon if she was going to harm someone. But she was the only one with a plan and I had to trust her on this. I entered Kovit’s room and opened the barren fridge. I had only found bread, a couple scraps of red meat, shrimp, a couple of waters, a few spoiling fruits, and other indiscernible food items. I grimaced, grabbing the water and bread, and closed the fridge.

I met up with Nita outside and my eyes fell on the hammer in her hands. “What’s that for?”

“In case Reyes comes back. You want the forceps or the hammer?”

I hesitated. I hadn’t really planned on adding murder to my to-do list for escape, but I trusted Nita. For now, at least. “Forceps, I guess.”

Nita handed me the sharp tool and I pocketed it before walking back to the cell that Kovit was being held in. “I was starting to wonder whether you guys would come back.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not exactly heartless, you know.”

“I know,” Kovit snickered. “You have a soft spot for me, especially.”

I glared at him. “Shut.” I tried to put the food and water through the feeder but it was stuck. I suddenly remembered the piece of plastic Nita shoved in through the slot. I glanced up at her and she looked back at me before meeting Kovit’s eyes.

“If you want to eat, you’ll have to remove the plastic I shoved into the feeder,” she shrugged. “Nothing personal.”

Kovit bent down to retrieve the plastic and I sat cross-legged on the floor to face him. “Do you know when Reyes will be back?”

Kovit grinned mischievously at me as I pushed his food and drink through the feeder. “Ahh Reyes, I had almost forgotten about her for a second. How pleasant...” I could hear the venom he spat into the last sentence. I still kinda felt bad he knew that Reyes would definitely kill him once she got here. Then I remembered the forceps in my back pocket. Maybe it wouldn’t have to come to that. But was I really willing to kill Reyes to save Kovit? Kovit was a monster, sure. But not like Reyes. Reyes was pure evil.If her blood was spilled, she would only have it coming. I’m sure Mirella would have wanted her dead too. I bit my lip.

“What time, Kovit?” Nita growled. I could tell she was getting impatient with him. 

Kovit smiled wickedly at her. “That’s a very particular question for someone you just hit in the head. But if you let me out of here, I might be able to find out.”

Nita groaned and turned on her heel. “No thanks.”

“Wait,” I suddenly pulled on the hem of her shirt. “He could be useful to us. He knows Reyes and her schedule. We could easily find out what we need to know with him.”

Nita crossed her arms and threw her head back. “And how do you know we can trust him? What if he betrays us?”

I gazed into Kovit’s eyes. The brown irises had a glint to them and he seemed very desperate. But there was something else in his eyes. I remembered the conversations we had in his dreams and I knew Kovit truly wasn’t evil. As for betraying his own mother...

“He won’t,” I said firmly. “He can be pretty scummy, but we can trust him. He won’t betray us. And even if he does,” I gazed back at him with a solid expression. “He wouldn’t dare mess with two of the most powerful unnaturals on Earth.” 

Kovit smiled at me. It seemed like a genuine one, but there was a little teasing in it too. “See? I knew you’d understand me, (y/n). You always have been the most sympathetic.”

I frowned. Was it that obvious? I’d always done my best in the prison to not get attached to or feel anything for the other prisoners because it would only hurt me even more, but even then, I guess I couldn’t help it...

“Just shut up,” I said. “If you even think about stepping out of line, you’ll wish we had left you in here.”

Kovit stared at me before suddenly giggling.

I scowled. “Is something funny?”

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “It’s just kinda cute to see you threaten me.” He calmed his laughter and suddenly gazed at me with a smirk on his face. “I know you, (y/n). I’ve been observing you for two weeks and even spoken to you in dreams. You’re not quite as threatening as you seem. Dangerous, sure. But when it all comes down to it, you’re not really willing to hurt or kill anyone. Nita, on the other hand, I’m not so sure.”

I remembered how I felt when Mirella came back after being sent to Boulder. And again, when he killed her. Even how Reyes treated all of us and the fact she’s the reason for all of this happening. All my rage and revulsion only fueled my animosity. Without a doubt, I wanted to kill them. But Kovit did have a point. Would I hesitate if the moment ever came? No, I decided. They needed to die. Justice needed to be served. For Mirella and every other person who had died and suffered because of them.

I clenched my fists. “That’s where you’re wrong. You may have seen glimpses of the person I am, but you don’t really know me.”

Kovit raised an eyebrow. “Oh, don’t I? You and I are quite similar, (y/n). I can see it in your eyes. Your eyes tell stories that you have never spoken to me. You don’t need to build up this facade. I know you don’t actually hate me.”

I grit my teeth. I tried to convince myself he was playing mind games on me, but the last part got to me. He was right. I didn’t hate him. For some reason, even though he humiliated me and tortured me and others, I didn’t really hate him and often found myself sympathizing for him. I didn’t hate him. I hated how I could feel for him when I didn’t want to. Sure, in the past I feared him and resented the way how he would use my abilities to make me feel pleasure. But was it really all to humiliate me? I recalled the last time he asked me to hold on to him as he cut me. He told me he had done it to make the pain more bearable. Was it possible that that was what he was doing the entire time? Thinking about it made my head throb and I clutched my head and winced.

Nita immediately crouched down beside me and gently touched my good shoulder. “(Y/n), are you okay?”

My head was still reeling, but I composed myself. “I’m fine.” I looked back at Kovit and he had a satisfied smirk on his face, as if he knew he was right. 

Nita glared at Kovit. “This was a bad idea coming here. We’re leaving and letting Reyes decide what to do with you.”

Kovit sighed. “I see. That’s unfortunate. But (y/n),” he looked at me with a serious expression. “I meant what I said. Don’t make the wrong decision.”

“I-“ I didn’t want to leave Kovit here. I didn’t want him to die here. But could I really convince Nita to let him go based on my feelings and instincts? Nita seemed all more than willing to let him die. But before I could get a sentence out, Nita suddenly pulled me to my feet and started leading me out of the hall. I watched as Kovit met my gaze. I saw the hurt reflected in his eyes and I suddenly felt I overwhelmed with guilt, so I immediately averted my eyes.

“Don’t look back,” Nita whispered to me. “Leaving him was the right decision. We couldn’t have trusted him anyway.”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “I think he’s actually...a genuine person.”

Nita flashed her eyes at me. “Have you gone mad? You’re lucky you didn’t open that cage or else I would have sprung on- never mind. He’s a monster. We can’t trust him.” Suddenly, a buzzing noise came from Nita’s pocket.

Curiously, Nita pulled out Kovit’s phone and glanced at the screen. Her eyes flicked back up at me. “It’s from Reyes.”


	8. Chapter 8

_ Customers are coming at noon tomorrow. Have everything cleaned up. _

Nita slumped back in the chair at Kovit’s desk. “What does that even mean?”

I crossed my legs as I shifted myself onto the edge of the table. “Well, it could refer to a many number of things. Like from Kovit’s messy room or our body parts. She doesn’t know Kovit is locked up in your old cell right now, so it’s best to just play along and respond.”

“Right,” Nita bit her thumb nail. She typed in a response and closed the phone.

“What’d you say?” I asked.

“Just ‘understood’. Best to keep it short and simple.” The phone suddenly buzzed. “Wow, that was quick.” Nita opened the phone and read the message out loud. “‘I will be there at 11 to make sure there is no repeat of last time.’ Last time? What happened last time?”

I picked my nails. “I don’t know, I don’t want to know. And quite frankly, I don’t care. We’re gonna leave this whole place behind anyway.”

Nita frowned. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting different since Kovit said those weird things to you.”

I sighed. “I don’t know. But he was right about me not hating him. Lately I’ve been finding myself sympathizing for him. I mean, how could I sympathize for someone who hurts people for a living? But when I saw him in his dreams...” I recounted his radiant smile and sincere eyes. “He was almost like a completely different person. He was more vulnerable and easygoing. He even opened up to me about his past a little bit. It was kinda sad, actually.”

Nita pondered what I said. “Do you ever think it was a trick and he was only pretending to be that way to make you feel bad for him?”

I hesitated. “No. I’ve thought about it, but he seemed really genuine about everything he told me. But I just don’t understand what he and Mirella meant.”

Nita cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

I looked at the monitor and watched Kovit as he laid on the floor staring at the ceiling. “They keep saying that he and I have a lot in common. But I don’t get it. We’re not nearly alike. He hurts people for the fun of it. I’m nothing like that.”

Nita crossed her arms. “Maybe so. But there’s more ways than that that can make people similar. I’m not saying I see the comparison between you two since I don’t know you both very well, but I’m sure that deep down there are some things you both may share in common.”

“Maybe,” I suddenly didn’t feel like talking about Kovit anymore. “So this plan you have,” I touched the forceps in my back pocket. “Why do we need these? It’s almost like we’re killing someone.” I laughed at the end to make it clear I was joking.

“Maybe,” Nita said flatly. I saw the seriousness in her eyes and my laughter trailed off.

“Oh.” I was willing to do whatever it takes to get off this island, and if killing was necessary I would do it. But I’ve never taken a life with my own hands before. 

“It’s not ideal to kill Reyes,” Nita said. “I’m just gonna see if we can knock her out. But if something goes wrong, there may be a chance we will have to kill her.”

“I see...so, uh, what exactly is the plan?”

Nita hesitated and I frowned. “Why won’t you tell me? How can I actually trust you if you won’t tell me anything?”

Nita sighed. “You’re right. I’m just...this plan is kind of a gamble. And it will be tricky to pull off. I’m not even sure if we should execute it, but it’s the only plan I’ve got so far.”

“Well, what is it?”

Nita gazed at me steadily. “We have to take down Reyes. If she’s out of the way, we can guarantee a safer escape. We’ll have to find money, too. I’m sure Reyes has lots of money somewhere...”

I frowned. “If your plan is to kill her, how would you know where to find her money?”

“Maybe Kovit would know. Reyes wouldn’t tell us, of course. But like you said, Kovit could be the key to getting out of here. There’s a chance he would know so we can use him to our advantage.”

“I see...” I snuck a peek at the time on the phone. “We’ve still got time before she comes. You should get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Nita shook her head. “You need more rest. I’ll keep watch first.”

I considered arguing with her, but she was right. I still felt slightly dizzy from overexerting my power but I was still coming down from my adrenaline high. “Okay,” I gave in. “Wake me in a few hours.” I sat back in the chair at the desk and folded my arms, trying to get comfortable. My body still ached all over, but once I found a decent sleeping position I shut my eyes.

I don’t know how long it took me to drift off into sleep, but when I did I dreamt of my brother. It wasn’t a spirit dream, but I dreamt of holding his hand and running through the tea fields. He smiled up at me brilliantly as we both ran. “Ane!”

I smiled back at him. I missed his cheeky little smile so much and the way how his eyes creased up at the corners as he did. “Come on,” I beckoned for him to keep up as we continued running through the field of leaves and white flowers. We laughed as we ran, but suddenly a loud bang sounded. My immediate instinct was to check on Nobu. There was a hole in his stomach as dark red blood oozed through the fabric of his shirt. His face was widened with shock as his mouth gaped open.

Fear and horror washed over me. “Nobu!” I caught him in my arms and gently laid him down in the flowers. “Ane,” he groaned as tears started streaming out of my eyes. “Why didn’t you save me?”

His questions surprised me. “Huh?”

“Why didn’t you save me, (y/n)?” I suddenly saw Mirella’s face, helpless and distorted in pain. I was the one holding her dying body in my arms now and Nobu was nowhere to be seen.

I was so shaken that I was actually startled out of my sleep. I woke up with a gasp and started panting, my mind reeling. My dream was already fading from my memory, but I still remember Mirella’s face and how she looked at me with agony. It was all my fault. I could have saved her.

“You okay?” Nita’s voice brought my attention to my surroundings and I started calming down a little when I remembered what we were doing. Nita studied me with her brows creased in concern. “You were whimpering and shaking in your sleep.”

“Just a nightmare,” I rasped. My mouth suddenly felt so dry. “Did anything happen while I was out?”

Nita shook her head. “No one has come in or out of the building. I’ve been thinking of ways to get money, too. I figured if Reyes doesn’t have money here, she’s definitely keeping it somewhere else. We’ll need to use Kovit if that is the case.”

I nodded and stretched my limbs. “How is he?”

Nita glanced at me warily. “He’s fine. Still in that cell.”

I stood up. “Alright. You should rest yourself. There’s still some time before Reyes comes back and you need your strength.”

Nita hesitated. “You’re not gonna let him out, are you?”

I snorted. “I see you still don’t trust me. Relax. I just want to see if I can get more information out of him. I’ll be listening for anyone else too, so don’t worry.”

I could see the thoughts turning over in Nita’s head and she finally gave in with a sigh. “Okay. Wake me up in a few hours, then.”

I nodded and leaned against the wall as I watched Nita settle into the chair and close her eyes. I waited a few minutes until I saw her breathing slow and waved my hand in front of her face, making sure she was actually asleep. When I was satisfied I made my way down to the cells. After our previous conversation I suddenly felt uneasy as I approached him, but I needed more answers from him. I wanted to fully understand him and hopefully then I could understand what he meant when he said we were similar.

Kovit was lying on the floor when I reached him and he glanced towards me when I stopped in front of the glass. “You’re still here?” He looked bored and I recognized that numb but hopeless tint in his eyes.

When I didn’t answer Kovit averted his gaze back to the ceiling. “If I were you, I would have been long gone by now,” he murmured.

“Me too, but it seems Nita has different ideas.” I suspected her plan had to do with getting rid of Reyes, but I had a feeling our motives might have been different. “If I was stronger I would’ve flirted my way off this island a long time ago.”

Kovit chortled. “Of course you could. But I’m guessing Nita thought you might get taken advantage of and that’s why you’re still here. The only other way would be to buy your way off the island or undergo something a little more...extreme.”

I nodded, not needing him to elaborate on the fact that we could kill people to leave. I didn’t want to take that route, but I was willing to do anything necessary as a last resort. “Right, but it appears Nita and I are in a financial crisis and are apparently waiting for Reyes.”

Kovit snorted. “What? Does she plan on kidnapping her for her money.” He laughed. “Man, you’re both fucked, then.”

I glared. “It’s not that easy to get off this island.”

Kovit shrugged. “Sure it is. You said so yourself, you would have gotten off this island yourself a long time ago. Clearly Nita is holding you back. Why do you stay with her when you’re clearly capable?”

“Well...” I know that Nita and I don’t completely trust each other at the moment, but it was the one hope I held on to for the past few days while I was in here. I wanted to escape with Nita and Mirella while we all turned our backs on this hellish place. “I’m not exactly capable. I’m pretty weak right now, so I rely on Nita a lot.”

Kovit frowned. “Sounds like you’re making excuses, but okay.”

The conversation dropped and I was suddenly upset he got more out of me than I got from him. “You never told me the story. About your mother and why you turned her in. Why you’re here.”

Kovit suddenly sat up and looked up at me. “You’re still interested in that, huh?”

“Well, it’s not everyday you hear a child about turning his own mother into INHUP. You knew what would happen when you did it, so why would you? Are you here because you turned her in?”

Kovit absent mindedly reached for his switchblade and startled twirling it around. “It’s kind of a long story, so you better sit down.”

I frowned, but sat down anyway. Kovit met my eyes and smirked as if he found something funny. He suddenly turned serious. “After INHUP arrested my mother, they took my sister into custody as well. I was 10 years old and on the streets of Bangkok.”

10 years old. That’s how old Nobu was. I tried to imagine the situation as if it were actually my little brother. His family gone as he wandered the city streets alone. I wouldn’t have wished that on any child.

“In the past, my family had always provided for me, especially my sister. But this was the first time I was out alone in the world, having to take care of my own unnatural needs.”

I swallowed. Zannies need to feed off pain to survive. “What’d you do?”

Kovit’s eyes bore into mine with a glint. The corners of his lips turned up and his voice sent chills into me. “I fed.”

Of course he would have to. His answer made me feel sick, but I had to remind myself that that’s just how unnaturals like him live. They can’t survive without feeding off pain and are raised with that sort of conscious. “When you fed,” I asked. “Did you cause the other people pain?”

Kovit suddenly looked away. “Not in the beginning. I started with what was available to me. Pain that had already been inflicted before I turned up.” His grin suddenly turned wider. “I still remember my first meal on my own. The whole intoxication of it.” His eyes flicked up at me and his smile made me uneasy. “You see, pain isn’t so hard to find...” His eyes traveled to my left hand where he first sliced into my palm. I clenched my hand, digging my fingers into the fabric that was wrapped around it. “If you know where to look.” His eyes met mine again. “Of course, that would all change.”

I frowned. “You mean when you came here? To the market?”

Kovit nodded. “Joining an organized crime syndicate in search of a zannie was far from my worst option. I’ve been working for them since I was 10.”

I was suddenly reminded of Nobu again. I tried picturing him in Kovit’s position, seeing my younger brother lost and hungry with limited choices for survival. I couldn’t even imagine it. Nobu was too naive and there would be no way he could have survived without someone at his side. “You must have been very shrewd for your age. I think most kids would have been helpless.”

“Well, I felt helpless at first, but that survival instinct kicks you to your sense to do what it takes to survive. Anyway, a few weeks ago they gave me someone new. They told me I was to make an example of him. And they were going to publicly kill him.” Kovit threw his head back. “People have glorified ideas about the usefulness of torture, but really all it’s good for is punishment. And sending a message. My intended victim was someone from the family. I had known him for six years. He was one of the few people who was actually nice to me.” Kovit faced me and I could see his twisted smile, but there was a sort of pang of sadness or hurt in them. “It was smart. Befriend the local monster so if you’re ever trapped with him he won’t bite.”

“I can’t even imagine what that’s like. To be used like that. When it was revealed that me and my family were unnaturals, people were so scared that they tried to kill us. But to have your feelings manipulated like that feels pretty cruel. Like cheating.” I looked at Kovit and saw him looking at me weird. I suddenly realized what was wrong with what I said. “But I mean, the world is a cruel place in general,” I said quickly. “You do what it takes to survive and that’s it.”

Kovit studied me for a few seconds. “Could you?” 

I blinked in surprise from his question. “Could I what?”

“Do what it takes to survive?” He challenged. “You’ve made it this far, but are you willing to carry out any task to live? Even if it’s something your moral compass is against?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but words wouldn’t come out. I decided I most definitely would, but could I really? What if I had to kill a person one day? I didn’t want to take a life with my own hands, but could I really do it? Was I capable of putting my emotions away to do so?

Kovit took my silence as an answer. “You’re emotional, (y/n).” He smirked. “I’ve observed you for two weeks and that’s what I’ve noticed. You always care about what other people feel and you try to put yourself in their situation. It’s reckless and stupid. Possibly one of your biggest weaknesses, in fact. But it’s refreshing. I’m quite hoping you somehow make it out of here alive.”

His remark stunned me even further, but I didn’t get the chance to reply back when he started picking up his story again. “So anyway, I let the guy escape without torturing him. The family wasn’t pleased and I was placed under Reyes’ lovely supervision as a result.” He sighed. “Jungle purgatory.”

“Is that what they call it?” I snorted in amusement.

“It sounds a lot nicer than the death market,” Kovit shrugged.

I sighed and laid down on the floor, gazing up at the cracked ceiling. “I guess purgatory is pretty accurate anyway. It’s not quite hell since all you go through is physical torture and are eventually sold off piece by piece. The real hell is not knowing what’s happened to the rest of your family that’s been captured. Whether they’re alive or dead. I would have gladly given my life for my brother to just be safe. I would have been okay dying here as long as I knew my brother was somewhere safe and sound. Not knowing makes me worried and sick to my stomach, and now I just feel so much guilt all the time.” I glanced at Kovit. “Is it really fair that I’m trying to make it out alive when the rest of my family is most likely dead? I should’ve been the one to die that day, not my parents. Is it really fair for the person who is at fault to stay alive?”

Kovit looked at me, an intense expression on his face. “If you’re trying to survive, you have a reason for living. Something is pushing you to stay alive. What is it?”

I frowned. “I never really thought about that. I just want to live. And...maybe one day I can find my brother. Whether he is dead or alive, I would like to know. And I want to live...for Mirella.” I turned on my side and locked eyes with Kovit. “She died, you know. Got murdered by one of Reyes’ customers while we were trying to escape. I owe her as much as staying alive and getting off this island.”

Kovit’s eyes never left mine. “I envy people like you, (y/n). Those who have the luxury to worry and care about others. People like me are monsters who struggle to interact with people normally. Some even only care about themselves, thinking that the only thing that is real is themselves.”

“Not you, though,” I pointed out. “I’ve seen you care for people. You obviously cared about your sister. And...” I trailed off, thinking about my next words carefully. “Me. You’ve cared about me.”

Kovit’s eyes widened and then quickly turned back to his regular aloof expression. “What makes you think I’ve been giving you special care?”

“Why else would you alleviate my pain? Unless if you’re some sort of pervert that enjoys making me feel the pleasure while you hurt me, I don’t see why else you would. And even then, you’ve been pretty merciful to all the prisoners here.” I thought about how Kovit spared Nita’s fingers that one time and how Mirella came out of the workroom with less visible wounds than I expected. “You have feelings and care about others too. I’ve seen it. You don’t have to pretend you’re a monster.”

Kovit was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes, leaning back against his cell. “People like you also piss me off. You sympathize for others easily and try to see the best in everyone. Some simply just have no humanity in them. And even then, some people are just disgusting by nature.”

I glared. “You think I don’t know anything about that?!” My voice suddenly raised defensively. “My race has been hated and feared because many of our kind have been tricksters and predators. But regardless if some of us are or aren’t like that, we still have feelings and people we care about. People who feel for others shouldn’t be labeled as monsters. Stop trying to hide behind that kind of identity and convincing yourself that’s who you are when I know it’s not.”

I was expecting Kovit to argue back, but he just sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “You’re so naive sometimes, (y/n).” His dark eyes met my eyes. “Just promise me that whatever you do you’ll make it out alive.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: sexual harassment, mentions and implication of rape

“Huh?” I was perplexed. “Why do you care whether I’m dead or alive?”

Kovit shrugged. “Just cause. But you also managed to escape the prison. It’d be a waste if you didn’t make it out of here alive.”

I studied him. His attitude seemed indifferent and he avoided looking in my eyes, but I really wanted to know what he was thinking. Just as Kovit has been observing me, I’d began observing him. Even though he didn’t want to show it, he really did care for others and had way more empathy than people like Reyes. “Kovit...”

“I’m not sure if I can be much help about your money problems, but there’s a loaded gun behind the security screen. I figure you and Nita will probably need it for your escape.”

“A gun?” I cocked an eyebrow. “But why would we- ?”

“You want to leave here or not?” Kovit cut me off, a stern look in his eyes. “Do you trust me?”

I faltered at his question. “I...” I glanced at the floor. I wasn’t sure if I should take Kovit’s word on anything, but he hasn’t given me a real reason not to trust him. And he was in a cage, of course. What could the harm in listening to him be? I looked back at him. “Okay. But...what about you?”

Kovit snorted. “What about me? Why do you care? Isn’t this what you wanted from the start?” He gave me a bitter smile. “To see your torturer finally being on the wrong side of the cage?”

“But it’s not fair to you,” I pointed out. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” I know Nita said not to let him out, but I felt like I really owed Kovit something.

“There you go not listening to me again,” Kovit rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to worry about yourself. How could you possibly survive in this world if you worry about others?”

His words immediately made me think of my family. He was right. It was because of me that that was what happened. I just needed to focus on getting out of here for my sake. But I still felt bad just leaving him in the lion’s den. I looked into Kovit’s eyes. “Thank you, Kovit.” As I got to to go back to the room I couldn’t help but find it weird that I was thanking him. Two weeks ago if someone had told me Kovit would help me try to escape this place I would have laughed in their face and called them batshit insane.

I stopped at the door to the room and heard scuffling inside. Nita was already awake. She must’ve seen me talking to Kovit. I turned the knob of the door and pushed my way inside. Nita was inside the room fiddling with the scalpel in her hands. “Did you find anything useful?” She didn’t even turn around to look at me.

“How long were you awake?” I asked, closing the door behind me. “Did you even sleep?”

“For a few minutes,” Nita set the scalpel down on the desk. “I saw you talking with Kovit on the security feed. Did he tell you where we can find money.”

I winced. “No, not really. He did mention a gun, though.”

Nita raised an eyebrow. “A gun? Why?”

I shrugged, reaching behind the monitor. “Either way, it is an upgrade from a hammer and a pair of forceps.” I felt up around the wall and screen until I felt a blunt object. I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled out the weapon wrapped up in cloth around the barrel. I carefully unraveled it and was surprised when I felt a cotton-like slip brush against my fingers. I recognized the green paper as American currency. I waved the money at Nita. “I’m not all that familiar with American money, so do you think this would be enough to get off this island?”

Nita’s eyes widened. “You actually found money?”

“Yeah, it’s strange though.” I looked at the paper as Nita counted it. “Kovit didn’t tell me about the money. Only the gun. Surely he knew that it was attached, right?”

Nita frowned. “That does sound curious. But who cares? We got what we need.” She flipped open the phone. “We’ve got five hours to try the docks before Reyes comes back, so we don’t have much time to waste.”

“Oh, yeah, what did you do while I was asleep anyway?” I asked.

“I was thinking of ways to get money, but if we manage to find a boat less than $40 we’ll be home free and get to report everything about Reyes and Boulder.”

“To who? INHUP? Do you really think they’re gonna get involved in the death market? And even then, you know they will question you, right? Ask about what you were doing there, who was involved...” My eyes burned into her. “You’re putting yourself and I at risk if you think it’s a good idea to tell them.”

“What other there choice do I have? The best way to bring them down is to report them to the authorities. Don’t you agree?”

“Of course I think that’s the right thing to do.” I suddenly remember what I told Kovit earlier. “But if doing the right thing can comprise our safety and survival, it might be best to find another solution.”

Nita sighed. “I get you’re on the danger list for INHUP, but it’ll be fine. I won’t involve you in the story.”

“What about yourself?” I countered. “We don’t even know what you are. What if INHUP does something to you when they find out you’re an unnatural?”

“I can tip them off anonymously, can’t I? It’ll be fine. You just have to trust me on this.”

Trust. It was a difficult thing for Nita and I to have towards each other. We were both in awkward situations where we wouldn’t be completely open to each other and hang around with certain people the other was skeptical of. But if we wanted to survive we did have to trust each other. “Fine,” I said. “But promise to tell me everything from now on.”

Nita nodded. “Okay. But you also have to promise to tell me whatever is going on between you and Kovit.”

“That’s not- .” But I stopped myself before I could finish saying that wasn’t fair. We needed to trust each other and if this was the way, then so be it. “Okay, then. It’s a deal.”

“Good. If we happen to be short on money then we’ll have time to double back and trap Reyes.” Nita eyed the gun. “Think you can handle it?”

I looked at the gun and knew what she meant. The image of Mirella getting shot by Boulder and then her dying body in my dream flashed through my mind. I shivered. “You better take it. I think I’ve got more energy now to protect us.”

Nita eyed the gun and nodded, taking it. “Okay, then. Let’s head out.”

Nita and I stepped back out into the jungle and the sounds of bird and insects hummed with life energetically. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the sunrise. Since it was so early the market seemed more quiet and empty. Nita and I walked toward the docks until we saw two guards with guns slinged around their bodies. It felt so weird to be back in this place. I snuck a look at where I last saw Mirella and my heart ached.

“Let me do the talking,” Nita suddenly whispered to me. My attention drifted back to our mission and I nodded.

Nita approached the two men and I stood close behind her as she spoke in Spanish. The two men studied us and I felt slightly intimidated until I remembered this was absolutely nothing compared to the prison I endured with Reyes and Kovit. The men spoke back in Spanish gruffly, but Nita kept her cool composure and responded back to them confidently. They continued speaking back and forth all the while I watched until Nita fell silent, her eyes widening.

I nudged her. “What’d they say?”

“The cheapest ride is $130,” Nita murmured. “Shh!” She shushed me as soon as I opened my mouth in outrage. She shook her head and I understood what she meant. We couldn’t afford to seem stingy right now.

“Okay,” I nodded. I sized up the men in front of me. Both of strong build and seemed almost a foot taller than me. Both seemed like they could take anyone in a fight and win. I didn’t know them well enough to know what to use against them, but it’ll be fine. I thought about what tactics to use before tapping Nita’s shoulder. “Cover me.”

Before Nita could respond I stepped forward and smiled in my most charming way. I never tried flirting with someone since I never felt the need or want to do it, but flirting came really natural to kitsune as one of our charms were being real people pleasers. “It’s so nice that you’re willing to help people,” I made my voice sound sweet and smooth as honey. Honestly this was really shallow and hurt my dignity, but stuff like this worked out in movies really well. I also wasn’t sure if they spoke English, but I was hoping my act would be enough to seduce them.

“You guys must be really reliable.” I made sure they noticed my eyes traveling up and down their bodies. “And so strong, too. I bet you give all the girls a real fun time.” I giggled, playing with my hair. 

One of the guys smirked, but he didn’t seemed so amused. “Nice try, girly. We know what you’re trying to do.”

“Yeah,” the other guy agreed. “We aren’t gonna give you a cheaper fare just by seducing us.”

Shit. They made this look way easier in movies. I still kept up the act, though. I made my eyes big and innocent. “What do you mean? I just thought you two must be so kind to help poor girls like us. We’ve been really down on our luck lately, so I’m really glad you’re here to help us get a ride to where we need to go. You’re both really kind, sirs.” Flirting wouldn’t work anymore, but I could probably still manipulate them by drilling it into their heads that they will help us.

The two men exchanged looks, then finally one of them spoke to me. “You think we give girls a fun time? We most certainly do. But if you really want to get there at a cheap price, let us have our fun with you.”

“Yeah,” the other guy guffawed. “You look really easy. I bet you would like it if you took us both at the same time.”

My face burned red and in a fit of rage, I dropped the act, forgetting all about the plan of staying low-key. “You think I’m just some cheap whore who’s this shallow??!! Are you fucking insane???!!! I’m not sleeping with you guys even if you offered a ride for free!!”

“What’s the problem?” One of the guys suddenly grabbed my wrist and held my hand up, fingers toying at the ripped and dirty cloth wrapped around my sliced hand. “Weren’t you the one asking for this? Don’t you want to get three rides for free?” He snickered.

“Get your dirty fucking hands off her,” Nita growled, stepping forward. I had nearly forgotten she was there.

Both the guys looked at her in amusement. “Or what? What are you gonna do? Report us? Do you know where we are? No one is going to care what we do to her.”

“Are you feeling left out?” The other guy asked. “You can join in too. We’ll definitely give you guys a ride to Tabatinga for free, then.”

I don’t know what came over me, but suddenly I gripped the man’s arm whose hand was on mine and started letting my anger go. My hand started warming up quickly until I heard a sizzle and the man yelped, instantly letting go. “What the fuck was that!!??” He looked at his arm which was a bright angry red where my hand had been and looked back up at me. “Just what the fuck are you?!”

“You should have let go when you had the chance.” I glowered.

Nita pulled on my arm. “Let’s go! We’ve already done what we can. There’s no use trying here anymore.” I let Nita pull me away as I was still tense and enraged. We continued walking to another port as I cooled off and suddenly I started realizing my hands were trembling. Nita seemed to notice it too. “Are you okay?”

“That was scary. I’ve never had to be in a situation like that. I mean, I’d get creepy stares from older men all the time back in Japan, but I’ve never been...in a situation where I’ve been provoked like that. I seriously was terrified and felt a little helpless. I didn’t know what to do so I acted on instinct. I’m really sorry I compromised our mission and almost exposed us and put us in danger. You were right. It’s dangerous to flirt here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nita said. “There’s still other boats here. We’ll just have to change our approach and hope we find a cheaper boat.” We continued walking until we came across another port with an older guy docking his boat.

Nita once again spoke in Spanish and the man said a few words back and I felt Nita tense up next to me. She said something back in Spanish and turned around, pulling me after her as the man called out to her but she didn’t turn around.

“What happened this time?” I asked.

“That ride was way more expensive than the last. Looks like we’ll have to move on to plan B. Trapping Reyes and taking her money.”

“Right,” I said. “But how are we going to get her money? We never learned where she keeps it. And even then, how are we going to trap her?”

“I’ve thought about that.” Nita said. I figure we’ll just have to find ways to make her talk. As for trapping her, how strong do you think you are to use your powers again? We can probably use another illusion or something.”

I shook my head. “Reyes is a lot smarter than she looks and is usually a few steps ahead of everything. She’ll probably quickly figure it out once she realizes something is out of place.”

“How about fire, then? Could we trap her in a ring of fire?”

I winced. “Sounds a bit difficult. I don’t know if I have enough energy to pull that off and hold it up for long. Also starting a fire indoors isn’t really smart.”

“Right,” Nita huffed. “We’ll just have to use the element of surprise and strike her from behind, then. I’m thinking we wait for her to come back and in the meantime we’ll- .”

“Shh!” I held up a finger to my lips. We had finally reached the end of the market, but something wasn’t right.

Nita frowned. “What is it?”

I pricked my ears up and focused on the sound I heard earlier. Footsteps. “Someone’s here,” I murmured. I listened harder. “About 20 feet ahead of us. They’re heading to the prison, too.”

Nita’s eyes widened. “Can you tell who it is?”

I shook my head. “No clue. Judging by the heaviness of the footsteps, though, it sounds like a woman. Let’s approach with caution.”

Nita and I walked briskly but quietly towards the prison building and I motioned for her to press herself against the wall and follow my lead. We slid our backs against the wall and I listened carefully as the woman stopped in front of the door. I carefully took a peek and saw Reyes’ back side facing me. I quickly turned back and faced Nita. ‘Reyes,’ I mouthed.

Nita’s eyes widened and she quickly pulled out the phone and opened it. We both looked at the time on the screen. She wasn’t supposed to be here for another four hours.

We heard the door open and then close and suddenly Reyes’ scent started growing stale. I double checked to make sure she was gone and then breathed out. “Why is she back so early?!”

Nita’s brows furrowed. “You don’t think she lied when she texted me back on Kovit’s phone do you?”

I shook my head, biting the nail of my thumb. “No. There’s no way she could have. Maybe there was a change of plans?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Nita said. “Reyes will notice we’re not in our cells so she’ll probably have her thugs scouting the market. She’ll probably have the guards alerted at the pier, too. We’ll be so fucked.”

“What do we do then? She’s way earlier than we expected.”

“We have no choice.” Nita pulled out the gun from behind her. “We have to stop her right now so we must act quickly. No matter what, stay behind me and cover for me, got it?”

I nodded and followed behind Nita we approached the entrance and opened the door. The hall seemed to be exactly how we left it, but I recognized Reyes’ smell right away from when I first smelled her outside. “She’s in the cell room,” I whispered softly in Nita’s ear.

Nita nodded and sauntered over silently towards the hall holding the cells with me trailing after her.

“Answer me, Kovit,” we heard Reyes say. “Where is the merchandise?”

“Gone,” he replied nonchalantly.

“Where?” 

“I don’t know.”

I peered over Nita’s shoulder and saw Reyes holding a gun in her hands. “Out,” she demanded.

“Where are we going?”

“Outside.”

“Don’t want to clean up the mess from blowing my brains out here?” His tone sounded light, but there was a hint of tiredness in them. 

“Yes,” Reyes responded seriously.

I suddenly felt anxious. I wasn’t sure what Reyes was planning on doing with him, but whatever she had in mind Kovit probably didn’t deserve it. I mean, I felt bad if Kovit was going to be killed for something that wasn’t really his fault, but suddenly I felt weird again. Why do I care so much about what happens to him? I chose to get close to him and that was the dumbest mistake I could make. I was actually starting to feel bad for the guy. It would have been so much easier if I wasn’t so interested in finding out his secrets. Maybe then I wouldn’t care whether he lived or died. I remembered what Kovit had said to me:  _ “Just promise me that whatever you do you’ll make it out alive.”  _ Damn it, why did he have to say something like that to me?!

I suddenly heard the click of a gun and slightly panicked thinking it was Reyes’ before realizing it came from Nita. I cocked an eyebrow. Just what was she planning? And since did she know how to use a gun?

My heartbeat sped up as I heard Reyes and Kovit approached closer. I anticipated Nita’s next move, feeling tense and anxious.  _Tap, tap, tap_.  Their footsteps got louder until they finally reached us. And just like that, it happened as quick as lightning. Reyes stepped out into the doorway and Nita swiftly moved to face her, the sound of a gunshot echoing loudly in the room. 


End file.
